


making up for lost time

by bothsexuals



Series: planted in my mind [1]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Getting Together, It's about the tenderness, M/M, Post-Canon, troy and abed reunited!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24426793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bothsexuals/pseuds/bothsexuals
Summary: Troy comes back, and he knows himself better than he ever has. Abed learns to deal with the man he's been in love with for years finally loving him back.
Relationships: Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Series: planted in my mind [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1802440
Comments: 140
Kudos: 345
Collections: fav fics ever : hall of fame





	1. i've loved you from the start, in every single way

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here it is: the inevitable reunion fic, which will also be my first multi-chapter trobed work. How fun and exciting. I really hope you like this! 
> 
> Title from Laurent Bourque's "Thinking of you", which I listened to over and over while writing this. Chapter title from Mindy Gledhill's "All About Your Heart".

Troy’s entire body trembled as he got off the plane, went through customs as if floating on air, finally made it to the arrival hall. His eyes darted around desperately, and immediately filled with tears as he found what he had been looking for. 

“Abed,” he tried to call, but all that came out was an intelligible sob. 

“Abed!” he tried again, and this time his best friend heard him, turned around with wide eyes, and dashed towards him. 

He flung his arms around Abed’s lanky frame, and finally let out a breath that he had been holding since the moment he'd left on the Childish Tycoon. 

“You’re back,” Abed mumbled, his words muffled in Troy’s shoulder. 

“I’m back,” Troy confirmed, now openly sobbing, “I love you.” 

“I love you,” Abed replied, a startling certainty in his voice, “I don’t wanna let go.”

“Me neither,” Troy agreed, “we should get sewn together for real.” 

Abed laughed, remembering Troy’s story from years before. 

“We’ll look into it.” 

They reluctantly pulled away, but Abed kept his arms around Troy’s waist, not ready to fully let go of the contact he had spent years longing for. Troy brought his hands to Abed’s cheeks as he studied his face, still in a state of disbelief. 

“Your hair’s longer,” he pointed out. 

“You have a stubble,” Abed quipped back. 

Troy dared to touch the longer strands of Abed’s hair, twirling them around his fingers. 

“You look good,” he whispered, but the last word barely came out, swallowed by Abed’s lips, which were suddenly on his own. 

Troy couldn’t control the small moan that escaped him as he kissed Abed back and his entire body seemed to catch fire. He was breathing heavily when Abed pulled back, a bewildered look in his eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, finally letting go of Troy, “I don’t know what came over me. Actually, I do know, but I’d rather not talk about it and just go home.” 

Troy couldn’t find any words to say, breathless as he was, so he simply nodded and dazedly grazed his lips with his fingers, following Abed out of the airport. 

They took a cab back to Abed’s apartment, because a) Abed really didn’t like driving, b) he would’ve been too distracted by Troy to focus on the road. Abed handed Troy a pack of Milk Duds as they settled in the backseat of the car, thinking he must be hungry after a long flight, and they shared them as Troy rested his head on Abed’s shoulder, admiring the LA scenery and listening to his best friend talk about the show he now worked on. 

As soon as Abed locked his apartment’s door behind them, Troy carelessly dropped his bags to the floor and flung his arms around him again, nestling his head in the crook of Abed’s neck and breathing in deeply. 

“I don’t know how I survived without you for so long,” he mumbled, feeling tears well up in his eyes once again, “I don’t ever wanna leave you again.”

“Please don’t,” Abed implored, his feeble voice sending daggers shooting through Troy’s heart. 

He squeezed him tighter, a silent promise never to let go. 

“Do you want buttered noodles?” Abed asked, pulling back just slightly, once again keeping his arms around Troy’s waist. Troy had to admit he really didn’t mind being held by his friend this way- or actually, he thoroughly enjoyed it. 

“Dude, of course!” He ended the embrace only to wind his arm around Abed’s shoulder, completely unwilling not to have at least a sliver of contact with him at all times. 

He kept his arm around Abed as he prepared their food, neither of them caring about how it was slightly impeding his movements, both of them reveling in the relief of being close again. 

“Do you have a roommate?” Troy asked, watching the butter melt into their pasta. 

“I had one, but he moved out a few weeks ago,” Abed replied, dividing the noodles evenly between two bowls, “his name was Jake. He really liked _Die Hard_ and listened to too much Taylor Swift.” 

Troy hummed. “Are you looking for another one?”

“Yeah, I can’t afford this place on my own.”

They grabbed their bowls and walked over to the couch, sitting down so close to each other that they were only occupying half of it. 

“My landlord’s letting me pay half the rent until I find someone else,” Abed explained, wagging his finger in the air, “he’s pretty cool. Kinda like Schneider from _One Day at a Time_ , but comes over a lot less often.” 

Troy frowned. “I haven’t seen that.” 

“That’s okay,” Abed said around a mouthful of noodles, “I still have Jeff’s Netflix account. We can watch it.” 

Troy nodded, and they watched the first episode as they ate their buttered noodles; Troy leaned into Abed’s side and focused more on his comments than the actual show. As the credits played, Abed stood up and brought their empty bowls to the kitchen, leaving them in the sink for Future Abed to worry about. 

“Do you wanna watch another one?” he asked, sitting back down on the couch, a little too far for Troy’s liking. 

Troy shook his head. “No, I wanna talk to you.” 

“Okay.” Abed nodded, and thought for a second. “It’s weird. It kind of feels like you never left.”

“Yeah, like no time’s passed at all,” Troy said with a smile. 

Abed nodded with a tiny smile of his own. It only lasted a moment, though, then his smile fell and he bit the inside of his cheek.

“It did, though,” he pointed out sadly, “years.” 

Troy looked down at his hands, twisting them around nervously in his lap. 

“I’m sorry I left,” he mumbled. 

“It’s okay,” Abed replied, “I knew you’d come back.” He paused for a moment, furrowing his brows and raising his finger. “That’s not true. I hoped you would, but more often than I would have liked I’d get scared that you’d find something better and forget about me.” 

“Abed…” Troy whispered dejectedly. 

“Don’t worry,” Abed said in an unconvincingly chipper tone, “I didn’t try to cut off Jeff’s arm or anything like that, this time. I just… cried and ate a lot of Annie’s pancakes and watched dozens of what she calls-” he punctuated his last words with air quotes “-‘comfort movies’.” 

“You cried for me?” Troy asked in disbelief, “You never cry.” 

“You’d be surprised what missing the only person who gets you can do to you,” Abed answered with a sad laugh.

“I missed you so much,” Troy said in a strangled voice as tears pricked his eyes, “I saw you everywhere. I wanted to call you all the time, but… the ocean has bad connection, you know? I, uh-” he stood up and hurriedly grabbed his backpack, from which he pulled out two different journals, both pretty worn out and full of scattered pictures and papers “-I wrote you almost everyday. Like a journal, I guess, but I always addressed it to you. You don’t have to read-” 

“I’m going to read the whole thing,” Abed cut him off, and Troy smiled. 

“It really is okay that you left,” Abed reassured him, “I wasn’t as happy without you, but I didn’t go insane, so that’s good. You seem happier and more secure, and that makes it all worth it. You deserve to find yourself.”

A tear rolled down Troy’s cheek and Abed’s fingers ached to reach out and catch it. 

“I think I did,” he said, “I realized a lot of stuff out there… like, about the real Troy.” 

“I’d love to meet him,” Abed muttered with a lopsided smile. 

“I think you’ve known him longer than I have,” Troy replied in a low voice. 

He handed Abed the journals, and Abed looked at them curiously, leafing through them without really seeing, not yet ready to read the words they held. 

“I also got you some gifts,” Troy said, standing up again, “there’s a whole bag of them.” He rummaged through his bags until he found the one he was looking for. “Here it is,” he announced, carrying it over to Abed.

Abed unzipped the bag and curiously looked inside it while Troy excitedly stared at him.

“Is that-” he picked up the object and inspected it, gasping- “Bobby Cobb’s Penny Can can?!”

“Yup!” Troy grabbed another gift to show him, “and this is the jacket the Inspector wore on season 4-” 

“Episode 1, _Associates in Debauchery_ , when he meets Constable Reggie for the second time and they start travelling together.” He accepted the jacket from Troy, and examined it thoroughly. “It’s my favorite episode.” 

“I know,” Troy said with a warm smile. 

“What’s this?” Abed asked, picking up a small cardboard box. He opened it, and got distracted by the bubble wrap inside before pulling out the tiny, colorful glass-made rat it held inside. 

“They do these cool blown glass things in Venice,” Troy explained, “and I had this made for you. It’s Fievel.” 

Abed smiled, turning it over in his hands. 

“I love it,” he muttered softly, and carefully set Glass Fievel down on the small coffee table in front of them, “I-” he hesitated, inching closer to Troy only to retract a moment later. 

Troy offered him a smile full of encouragement and hope. 

“Yeah?” 

“I love you,” Abed concluded, and quickly wrapped his arms around Troy, “I love you.”

“I love you, Abed,” Troy mumbled, his fingers seemingly moving of their own accord, tangling in his best friend’s hair.

Abed didn’t pull away until a couple of minutes had passed, and when he did, Troy couldn’t help but notice him subtly wiping at his eyes. 

“I can’t believe we haven’t done this yet,” Troy said, raising his hands for their handshake. A spark passed through them as they exchanged a look and immediately understood each other. 

“Troy and Abed reunited!” they sang in unison, matching grins on their faces. 

“Let’s go to sleep,” Abed said then, “Annie will be here early tomorrow.”

Troy looked at Abed, raising his eyebrows meaningfully, and Abed returned the look. 

“Troy and Abed and Annie reunited!” they sang, and did their handshake again. 

“Awesome,” Troy commented and stood up, offering Abed his hand. Abed accepted it, despite it being completely unnecessary for Troy to pull him up when he could easily do it himself. 

“Bathroom.” He pointed to a small room. “Bedroom.” Another. 

Troy nodded, and searched his bags for his stuff, grabbing a ziplock bag full of toiletries. 

Abed frowned. “Annie would hate that.” 

“Annie’s not here yet,” Troy replied with a shrug and a bright laugh. 

“True.” Abed looked thoughtful for a moment. “Put your stuff away in the bathroom. So she doesn’t see that tomorrow.” 

Troy nodded and headed to the bathroom, not understanding why the simple notion of setting his toothbrush next to Abed’s again had made his heart skip a beat. 

While he got ready, Abed changed into his pyjamas, which at the moment were an old, slightly oversized _Star Wars_ shirt he didn’t remember buying and boxers. He contemplated wearing actual pants since Troy was there, but concluded that it would just mean waking up sweaty to take them off in the middle of the night, and decided against it. He grabbed a spare pillow and blanket out of his closet and brought them to the couch, where he intended to sleep. He would have used the vacant bedroom that used to be his roommate’s, but he’d already prepared it for Annie, and what was one more night on the couch, really? 

Troy exited the bathroom in his own pyjamas, which was an actual pyjama, unlike Abed’s shirt, which he was currently squinting at. 

“Is that my shirt?” Troy asked, pointing at it. 

Abed looked down, as if seeing it for the first time. Oh, so _that’s_ why he didn’t remember buying it. 

“You must have left it back home,” he replied, and tried not to think too hard about the fact that their old apartment was still home in his mind, “do you want it back?” 

Troy shook his head, biting his lip and looking Abed up and down with undecipherable eyes. 

“No. Keep it, it looks way better on you.” 

“Thanks,” Abed meant to say, but what came out instead was a strained, incoherent sound. 

He felt his cheeks heat up at the sight of Troy’s tongue darting out of his mouth for just a second to lick his lips, his eyes still fixed on Abed. He forced his gaze away from his best friend, and almost ran to the bathroom, his heart pounding in his chest. 

He brought a hand to rest above his heart, willing it to calm down, and raised his other hand to look at his phone, which he’d ignored since Troy’s arrival. Five texts from Annie awaited him. 

**Hey Abed! Good luck with Troy today!**

**Not that you need it, you’re best friends. Don’t worry!!! Love you!!! Text me when he arrives?**

**That was unrealistic, you’re gonna be distracted. Text me when you have time.**

**I hope things are going well with Troy! I can’t wait to see you both tomorrow. I miss you so much!!**

**I’m so curious when are u gonna text me back??!!!**

The most recent one had been sent only a few minutes before from a clearly antsy Annie, as was apparent by her very out of character disregard for grammar. He typed out his response. 

**Hey, Annie. Things are going well, I think. I’m losing my mind a little.**

**Good or bad losing your mind?** she texted back almost immediately. 

**Not sure. Is losing your mind ever good?**

He nervously tapped his fingers on his leg as he waited for her reply. 

**Sometimes. If you’re both losing it together.**

He breathed out shakily. 

**I hope that’s what this is.**

He hesitated for a moment, then typed out another message. 

**I miss you.**

He took a deep breath, and relaxed as he read Annie’s reply. 

**Go to sleep, I’ll be there in the morning. I love you.**

**Goodnight, Annie. I love you.**

He pressed send on his final text and put down his phone, resolving not to look at it until the next day. He brushed his teeth, washed his face and gave himself a once-over in the mirror. 

He should have realized the shirt was Troy’s, really, it was obvious from the way it hung over him, too big for his thin frame, and he should have remembered why it had become one of his favorite shirts to wear to bed. He should have remembered that night, shortly after Troy left, when he had found it laying around his blanket fort, picked it up and pressed it against his face, inhaled deeply, the scent of Troy filling up his lungs and making him slightly dizzy. He should have remembered telling Annie about that, commenting on how it was a scene right out of a romantic drama, and the way she pouted compassionately and hugged him and suggested he wear it to sleep. He should have remembered all of that, but he tried not to, tried to turn into Clone Abed whenever the feeling of Troy’s absence started to become too much. 

He got out of the bathroom and headed for the couch, and was surprised to find Troy sitting there, pulling the blanket over himself. 

“What are you doing?” he asked. 

“Going to sleep,” Troy replied as if it was obvious. 

Abed furrowed his brows and vaguely pointed towards his bedroom. 

“But I changed the bedsheets.” He saw that Troy looked lost, so he tried again. “I changed the bedsheets so you could sleep there. You’re taking my bed.” 

“It’s your house, Abed, I’m not gonna make you sleep on the couch,” Troy protested. 

“You’re my guest, I’m not making _you_ sleep on the couch,” Abed stubbornly insisted. 

“Fine.” 

Troy hastily stood up and grabbed Abed’s hand, then dragged him to his bedroom; once there, he jumped under the covers, shuffled to one side and patted the space next to him. Abed simply stared, dumbfounded. 

“Well, Inspector,” Troy said in an at-most-okay british accent, “looks like there’s only one bed. We’ll have to share.” 

“There’s actually two beds,” Abed corrected him, still himself, “also a couch.” 

Troy rolled his eyes, more out of fondness than annoyance. 

“Inspector,” he repeated.

Abed’s mouth opened in a small, quiet gasp as what Troy was doing finally dawned on him, and quickly quirked his eyebrow and smirked in a typical Inspector-like way. 

“Constable Reggie,” he said in an at-least-Troy-thinks-it’s-a-lot-better british accent, “I do hope I won’t kick you in my sleep.” 

Troy laughed and yanked him down on the bed, then pulled the covers over him. He looked at his best friend’s back for a moment, and made the executive decision to draw his arms around his waist and pull him close. 

“You’re so cuddly,” he mumbled against Abed’s shoulder, “like a big teddy bear.” 

“Teddy bears are soft,” Abed pointed out, “I’m pretty bony.” 

“You’re perfect,” Troy said, meaning it in a thousand more ways than Abed could have imagined.

He whined when Abed pulled away to set his phone on the nightstand, then reached out for the lightswitch. 

“I’m just turning off the light, Troy,” Abed told him in a fondly exasperated tone, “you went years without me, you can go another second.”

“No, I can’t,” Troy lamented, “I’ll die. I’m dying right now. You've killed me.” 

Abed amusedly scoffed as he turned off the light, then settled back into Troy’s arms. 

“I’m alive again,” Troy whispered, and the feeling of it sent shivers down Abed’s spine. 

“Good,” he whispered back, and closed his eyes. 

He tried to sleep, he really did, but the feeling of Troy’s chest against his back, the weight of his arm on his stomach, the warmth of his breath against his neck, all of it was overwhelming in the most pleasurable of ways, and Abed was wide awake. 

“Abed?” 

So was Troy, apparently. 

“Yes?” 

He felt Troy shuffle a little bit, and waited for him to settle down and speak. 

“Why did you kiss me before?” 

Oh, right. Of course they would have to talk about that. They couldn’t really let it go, could they? It was an important shift in their relationship, it could complicate things, especially if left unexplained. But what could Abed say? He turned possible excuses around in his head, until-

 _Friends don’t lie to each other._

The words rang out in his mind, clear as day. He had lied for years, at least by omission. He couldn’t do that to Troy anymore. They could start over, with everything out in the open. Or maybe Troy would leave again, for good this time, but at least Abed knew now that he could survive without him, just a little unhappily. 

“Because, Troy…” He turned around to face him, immediately finding Troy’s attentive gaze. He bit the inside of his cheek- he was really doing this. “Because I’ve been in love with you since the first time you high-fived me.” 

“You-” Troy stammered, a slight quiver in his lip “-you have?” 

Abed nodded. 

“I-” Troy sat up suddenly “-fuck, wait.” He ran out of the room, leaving a cold, empty void next to Abed, who could hear him search for something in the living room. 

He ran back inside, carrying one of the journals from his trip. He turned on the small lamp on Abed’s nightstand, tinging the room of a soft, golden hue, and handed Abed the journal, sitting down beside him.

“Go to April 30th, 2016,” he instructed. Abed did. “Read it.” 

Abed sat up against the headboard and put on his Troy voice. It was slightly rusty, he hadn’t used it in a long time, not since that day Troy had called him up a few years before with the news that they had switched bodies again, so he’d spent the whole day as him, causing Annie to cry when “Troy” told her how much he missed her. 

“‘Dear Abed,” he read, “I realized something today. I’m a complete fucking idiot. I was walking through Amsterdam, just looking around at the canals, the sex shops and the weed stores (did you know there’s a whole street full of _just those_? That’s so awesome, but also kind of weird?) and suddenly it hit me. I don’t know what brought it on, I promise it wasn’t the dildos or the pot, I was just thinking of you, like I always am, and it hit me. I’m in-’ Oh.” Abed’s Troy-voice faltered, leaving only a shell-shocked Abed behind. 

“‘I’m in love with you,” he whispered, “I’m totally, completely, stupidly in love with you.’” He looked up at Troy as his eyes welled up. “You are?”

Troy nodded, “I am. I really fucking am.” 

“Please kiss me,” Abed said, his voice coming out strangled and desperate. 

Troy lunged forward without hesitation, hooking a hand behind Abed’s neck and capturing his lips with his own. He kissed him for minutes on end, kissed him with all the hunger and passion of a man who’s been in love for years and only realised it once he was miles and miles away.

“Can you-” Abed pressed on Troy’s chest lightly, pushing him away just enough to speak, which he did in a breathless, needy voice Troy had never heard before, and which drove him a little insane “-can you say it? Please?”

Troy’s eyes filled with tears for what felt like the hundredth time that day. 

“I’m in love with you,” he whispered, and kissed Abed again, “I’m so in love with you. You’re everything- fuck, Abed, it felt like a part of me was missing.” He kissed him again, longer this time. “I’m never leaving you again. I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Abed replied, matching Troy’s low tone, “please stop apologizing. I want you to be your own person. I don’t want you to be my sidekick, I want us to be equally important protagonists of a romantic comedy.” 

Troy laughed, and it felt amazing against Abed’s lips. 

“We are,” he assured Abed, and kissed him again, because _god, why wouldn’t he?_

Abed pulled him closer, causing Troy to stumble a little and finally settle with his legs on either side of Abed, holding himself up with one hand, the other tangled in Abed’s hair. 

“Your hair’s longer,” he pointed out a second time. 

“You said that already,” Abed mumbled in between kisses. 

“Yeah,” Troy distractedly replied, “you’re beautiful. Did I say _that_?” 

“No,” Abed breathlessly answered.

“You are-” he pulled back and Abed’s brain short-circuited as it tried to register the love and need that darkened his eyes “-so beautiful. And I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” Abed said, letting his hands wander over Troy’s back, “also, I’m not completely sure this is actually happening and isn't a dream.”

“Dude, trust me, this is way better than a dream,” Troy scoffed.

Abed’s hands travelled up Troy’s arms, brushing his skin so tenderly it made him tremble. 

“You never felt like this in my dreams,” Abed mumbled, perhaps more to himself than to Troy, “so it must be real.” 

Troy kissed him again, slow and full of purpose. 

“It’s real,” he whispered, touching his forehead to Abed’s, “I promise.” 

“Good,” Abed whispered, and pulled him into a kiss, winding his arms around Troy’s waist and guiding him to sit on his lap. Troy let his hands wander on Abed’s chest, down to his stomach, reaching the hem of his own old shirt. 

“Can I-” he started to ask, and Abed nodded eagerly, so he snuck his hands under Abed’s shirt to feel his warm, soft skin. 

“Holy shit,” he muttered, his eyes widening, “those are some abs, Abed.” 

Abed chuckled, throwing his head slightly back. 

“Annie and I started doing yoga after you left,” he explained, “we still video-call to do it together at least twice a week. There’s some great core work-outs.” 

“Awesome,” Troy mumbled, lifting Abed’s shirt a little to admire his abs. 

“You can just take it off if you wanna stare at me,” Abed said after he’d done so for probably a few minutes, running his hands over Abed’s stomach over and over. 

Troy felt his cheeks heat up at the suggestion, but he did it anyway, his hands only slightly shaking as he raised the shirt over Abed’s head, and off. He set it down carefully next to them, then focused completely on the man lying beneath him. 

“Holy shit, dude,” he breathed, “I think you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” 

No response came from Abed, so Troy glanced up at his face, and was surprised to find tears running down his cheeks.

“Oh, no.” He climbed off Abed’s lap to lay beside him and dried his tears with his thumbs, “did I do something wrong? Is this too fast? It is, right? I’m sorry.” 

“No, it’s just-” Abed choked out, gripping Troy’s shirt “-I don’t know. It’s a lot. I’ve wanted you to love me back for eight years and now you’re just here telling me I’m beautiful like it’s nothing and it’s a little overwhelming.” 

“Well, first of all I’m not saying it like it’s nothing,” Troy replied, distractedly scratching the back of Abed’s head like he was a cat, “because it’s actually everything to me. And second of all, I’m sorry I was an idiot and I made you wait so long.” 

“It’s okay,” Abed sighed, trying to calm down with slow, mindful breaths, the way Annie had taught him, “you’re here now.” 

Troy drew him close, enveloped him in his arms and kissed the top of his head. 

“I’m here,” he whispered like a promise, “let’s go to sleep.” 

Abed nodded, resting his head on Troy’s chest and synching his own breaths to the slow rhythm of its rise and fall. He closed his eyes and willed his fearful thoughts away, focusing only on the steady beat of Troy’s heart.


	2. you look at me and i just melt, i'm scared of feeling that way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two! Now featuring Annie and a character I made up who most definitely looks like Indya Moore in my head. Please enjoy. 
> 
> Title from "Love in Store" by Fleetwood Mac.

Abed woke to the sound of his phone buzzing on the nightstand and groaned, blindly reaching for it. He squinted to see Annie was calling and picked up, bringing the phone to his ear. 

“Hello?” he said in a quiet tone, trying not to wake up Troy, who was soundly asleep in his arms. 

“Goodmorning, sunshine!” Annie’s chipper voice greeted him, “are you still sleeping?”

“Well, no. You woke me up,” he pointed out, and cleared his throat when he heard how groggy he sounded. 

“Did you even sleep at all? Abed! Did you and Troy stay up all night talking?” She had her scolding voice on, he noticed. 

“Something like that,” he answered, unable to keep a smirk off his face, “but we did sleep. When are you getting here?”

“Like half an hour. I’m just waiting for my cab.” 

“I watched this show a few days ago,” he said, his mind wandering to a totally unrelated place, “and they kept mentioning Lyft in really unnecessary moments. Like every five minutes a character would be getting a Lyft. And it’s like, we get it, you’re getting paid, please do the show.” 

He heard Annie laugh fondly from the other side of the call. “Sounds like a great show, Abed.” 

“Sometimes,” Abed conceded, “anyways I’ll uh-” he watched Troy stir in his arms “-go wake up Troy.”

“Good luck! I can’t wait to see you guys!” He could almost see her jump up and down in excitement. 

“Same,” he replied simply, trusting she would be able to gauge his eagerness to see her again through his monotone voice, “bye, Annie.” 

“Bye, Abed!” 

The call disconnected and Abed gazed down to look at Troy, who was nestled safely in his arms, his head on Abed’s chest, one arm thrown over his stomach, a leg tangled between Abed’s. He was everywhere, and it felt amazing. He wished that moment could last forever, but at the same time he wished Troy was awake and kissing him again, and at the same time he couldn’t wait to be up and reuniting with Annie. 

So, he guessed waking up Troy won over letting Troy sleep in his arms forever. 

“Troy-” he shook him gently “-wake up.”

Troy’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked at Abed with a dopey smile. 

“Hi,” he mumbled. 

“Hi,” Abed replied, his own mouth curving in a smile, “Annie’s almost here.” 

“Cool.” Troy cuddled up even closer to Abed, making no move to get up. 

“Troy,” Abed called him again, his voice firmer. 

Troy raised his head, then, resting his chin on Abed’s chest and looking at him expectantly. Whatever Abed had been about to say flew out the window, and what came out instead was a soft “Can I kiss you?” 

“Fuck yeah, baby,” Troy eagerly replied, pulling himself up just enough to meet Abed in a slow, hazy kiss. 

Once they pulled apart, Abed sighed, his eyes still half closed. 

“I can’t believe you called me baby,” he breathed, “I’m gonna have a heart attack before Annie shows up.” 

“That’d be awkward to explain,” Troy commented, standing up, “please don’t.” 

He took Abed’s hand and pulled him up to stand, then wound an arm around his waist and smoothly drew him closer. 

“God, you’re pretty,” he muttered, grinning. 

“Shut up,” Abed replied, biting back a smile of his own.

“I’ll shut up when you stop being so pretty,” Troy teased, then pulled him into another slow kiss. 

Abed allowed himself to get lost in it for a few moments, then moved his hands to Troy’s chest and gently pushed him back. 

“I’m almost naked,” he mumbled, willing his brain to start working again. 

“Yeah, it’s great,” Troy replied with a toothy grin and a glint in his eye. 

Abed felt his cheeks heat up and slapped Troy’s chest lightly as he pushed him all the way back, causing him to laugh brightly.

“I mean I need to get dressed before Annie gets here in-” he picked up his phone and checked the time- “less than twenty minutes! Troy, get dressed.” 

Troy rolled his eyes. “So bossy.” 

“Shut up,” Abed ordered, “get dressed.” 

“You sound like Annie.” He smirked, pointing his finger to Abed. “Are you doing Annie?” 

“No,” Abed answered, “I’m doing Abed.” 

“I wish _I_ was doing Abed,” Troy quipped with a wink. 

Abed’s face scrunched up in confusion, then his eyes widened as he realized what Troy meant. 

“Get out.” He pushed Troy out of the room, his entire body feeling like it was on fire. “Get dressed. Or don’t. I don’t care, just get out.” 

Troy raised his hands in surrender and exited the room, and judging by the rustling he heard from the other room Abed reckoned he was actually getting dressed. 

Abed closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. God, he really couldn’t wait for Annie to get there. Their relationship had started out a bit rocky, sure: she was a very outwardly emotional person and he had a hard time reading people, at times even himself, and that had drawn a natural wedge between them. But as the years passed he realized how wrong he had been in deeming them similar to Chandler and Phoebe, while in fact they had turned out to be more like Chandler and Joey. (Well, he was probably more similar to Monica than Joey, but he couldn’t use Chandler and Monica on account of their compliance to the ‘best friends to lovers’ trope, which he had always hoped would fit him and Troy more, and _oh, wow_ apparently it did).

When Troy had left, he had leaned on her. He had been lost the first few days, unable to move, speak, think. She had brought him buttered noodles, pancakes, DVDs of _Inspector Spacetime_ and _Batman_ ; she had planned a _Cougar Town_ rewatch in three phases, each one centered on a different series-long arc; she had bought the two of them passes to a panel about representation in animation, and slowly but surely she had helped him get back on his feet. He had gotten better, and they had gotten closer. And since he didn’t have Troy to go to when he was down or felt things he couldn’t even understand himself and needed someone else to decipher, he had started to go to her, and she had learnt how to help him. 

Now Troy was back, and he was in love with Abed, and he was flirting with Abed, and all of that was just a lot to process, and he needed Annie to make sense of it all, because he couldn’t. 

He opened his eyes and glanced down at his phone again. Ten minutes. Wow, introspection took a long time. 

He took another deep breath, and walked to his dresser. He picked out a shirt he knew Annie liked, put on a random pair of jeans, and threw on a yellow hoodie, then took one last deep breath and walked out of the room. 

Troy looked up at him from the couch and smiled. 

“Hey.” He raised his arm to show Abed what he was looking at. It was the other journal, the one that didn’t contain his love confession. “Wanna read?” 

Abed nodded, and sat down beside him. Troy handed him the journal, already open to June 12th, 2014.

“‘Dear Abed,” he read in his Troy voice, “I miss you. We’re in Canada right now and let me tell you: the rumors are false, people _aren’t_ all nice and polite here. Some of them are, though. I met a dude with a great smile who told me where I could find some great mac and cheese. I wish you could’ve tried it. I miss you. Apparently LeVar has some rich friends who own a winery in Quebec or something so we’re headed there next. What do you even wear to a rich people winery? Anyways, I miss you. I know I keep saying that but it’s because I keep thinking it. I see something and I’m like ‘Oh, I wish Abed could see that’. I think LeVar is getting tired of how much I talk about you, but it’s okay. I’d rather have LeVar Burton hate me than have you out of my mind.’” 

Abed took a shaky breath and turned his head to look at Troy. 

“Are all of these so…” he trailed off, not really knowing how to finish the question. 

“Obvious proof that I was in love with you and should have realized years before and not needed a boat trip around the world during which I was kidnapped by pirates and roped into becoming a farmhand for five months in exchange for half a tank of gas to show me?” He smiled cheekily. “Yeah, pretty much.” 

“Cool,” Abed replied, “cool, cool, cool.” 

“Can I-” Troy started to say, but was interrupted by the loud buzz of the intercom.

“Annie!” Abed exclaimed, springing up to his feet.

“Wait, can I open the door?” Troy asked. 

Abed’s brows furrowed, but he agreed with a small nod and Troy positioned himself in front of the door. The doorbell rang a few seconds later and Troy swung the door open with an enthusiastic smile; he looked Annie up and down, scrunching up his face to feign confusion. 

“I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong house,” he said.

“Oh, you idiot!” Annie laughed and flung her arms around him, and he picked her up and spun her around. “I missed you so much!” 

“I missed you too,” Troy mumbled, setting her down and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Oh, you’re even prettier than I remembered. And you look like a badass with that suit.”

She slapped his arm with a bashful smile. “You look great too, Troy.”

“Can I hug her now?” Abed asked from behind Troy, who moved out of their way with a smile. 

“Abed!” Annie jumped into his arms with such force that it caused him to stumble backwards a bit. “I missed you so much!” 

“I missed you too,” he said, then lowered his voice to whisper in her ear, “I think I _am_ losing my mind.” 

She pressed a kiss to his cheek, still holding tightly onto him. 

“I got you,” she whispered back.

They pulled apart and Troy draped his arm around Annie’s shoulder, pulling her into a side hug. 

“Remember your promise?” Annie asked Abed, raising her eyebrows meaningfully. 

“Of course,” he replied, and when Troy shot them a confused look he explained, “I promised Annie we’d go to the nice french bakery near here the first time she visited.” 

“Oh, cool,” Troy said, rushing to put on his shoes, “I’m starving.” 

Abed did the same as Annie carefully carried her bag inside and set it down near the couch.

“Okay, let’s go,” Abed said, and Annie gingerly linked her arm with his, and he led both of his best friends to the nice bakery a few streets down. 

“Oh, it’s so pretty,” Annie commented, looking around at the small, elegant tables and the display of french pastries. 

“Very french,” Troy added. 

“Oh, right, Mr. Trip Around The World is here,” Annie laughed. 

Abed silently enjoyed their playful back and forth as they waited for their turn, then let Annie order a coffee and croissant for him along with her own, but stopped her before she could pay to take care of both their orders himself. Troy ordered two croissants as well, both for himself, and once their orders were ready they chose a nice table near a window to sit at. Abed let Troy and Annie lead the conversation, telling each other stories about their time apart, and was glad they let him be the audience while his brain took a little break. 

“Hey, Abed!” 

He looked up as he tried to pin down whose voice was calling him. 

“Oh, hi,” he said with a slightly forced smile he hoped looked genuine enough, then addressing Annie and Troy, “this is Bill. They work with me.” Bill gave a small wave. “Bill, this is Annie, the girl in that picture who you said was pretty, and this is Troy, my, uh-” he hesitated for a moment “-my best friend.” 

“So nice to meet you,” Annie said with a smile and a faint blush in her cheeks, shaking their hand, “and thank you, you’re very pretty too.” 

Abed turned to Troy, and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Should I not have said that?”

Troy’s eyes darted between Annie and Bill and he gave Abed a reassuring smile. “No, man, I think it’s cool.” 

“Well, wonderful to meet you both. Abed, have a fun reunion episode, I gotta get to work.” They shot him some finger guns which Abed returned with a soft _pew_ , and left. 

“Well, they seem nice,” Annie commented cheerily. 

“They are,” Abed agreed, “we went on a date once, but it didn’t work out because, well, you know.” Both Annie and Troy nodded in understanding, then shot the other a confused look. “Anyways, we became pretty good friends after that.”

“I'm glad you made friends," Annie told him, softly placing her hand on his shoulder. 

"Thanks," Abed replied, "I got better at socializing thanks to you guys." He tilted his head pensively. "Plus, they like _Inspector Spacetime_." 

"Nice," Troy commented, and deemed the fact handshake-worthy. “Oh, hold up,” he said, picking up his phone which had started buzzing, and stood up to take the call a few metres over. 

“So.” Annie rested her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. “Why are you going insane?” 

Abed glanced at Troy nervously, then back at Annie. 

“I kissed Troy,” he whispered, leaning close to make sure only Annie would hear (which of course didn’t make sense, because Troy already knew, but his brain really didn’t have the capacity to make sense at that moment), “when he arrived at the airport, I kissed him. And then I asked him to ignore it and he did-” 

“Abed, that’s not very-” Annie started, but Abed raised a hand to stop her and continued. 

“He did for a while but then he asked me why I kissed him and…” 

“And?” Annie impatiently asked. 

“And I told him.” 

“Told him what?” 

“I told him I’m in love with him,” he said urgently, “and he- he said he’s in love with me too.” 

“Oh my G- oh hi, Troy!” Annie quickly plastered a smile on her face to hide her shock. “What was that about?” 

“That was Pierce’s inheritance lawyer dude,” Troy explained, sitting back down and taking a bite out of his second croissant, “he said meeting in LA is actually better for him so I’m gonna see him after lunch to… become a millionaire or whatever.” 

“Will you fund my movie?” Abed asked and Annie slapped his shoulder. _What?_ he mouthed at her and she answered with a wide-eyed look that he had come to understand meant he’d said something out of line. 

“I’ll fund all the movies you want,” Troy replied, a little too earnestly for Abed’s heart to bear, “and I’ll get you all the buttered noodles in the world. And I’ll fund a _Cougar Town_ reunion.” 

“That sounds awesome, but you should keep some money for yourself,” Abed said. 

“I’d rather make you happy,” Troy countered with a shrug and a shy smile. 

“You don’t need money for that,” Abed replied with a small frown, “you never did.” 

That made Troy’s face scrunch up the way it did when he was trying not to cry, which meant Abed had probably said something wrong, so he quickly changed the subject back to Annie’s FBI job, and let her take over the conversation for a little bit. He watched Troy carefully as they talked, the way his eyes looked a little shiny, the way his hand kept inching closer to Abed’s on the table only to move away at the last moment, and jotted it all down in the Troy folder he kept in his mind. 

Once they were done with breakfast they walked back to the apartment, where Annie scolded Abed for leaving their dirty bowls from the night before in the sink. Troy offered to wash them while Abed showed Annie what would be her room for the duration of her stay and she started to unpack some of her stuff. 

“I should probably unpack too,” Troy said, drying his hands on a kitchen rag, “I kinda left my bags laying around your house.” 

“It’s fine, I like seeing your stuff around,” Abed replied, “means you’re here.”

“God, you’re cute,” Troy mumbled, and grabbed Abed’s hand to pull him closer. 

He was about to lean in for a kiss when he noticed Abed’s brows were knit together and his eyes were darting around nervously. 

“Is something wrong?” he asked, but Abed didn’t have time to reply before Annie joined them again, so he let go of Abed’s hand. “I got a gift for you,” he told Annie, searching one of his bags for it, “well, a couple actually.” 

He handed her a pink bag, which she opened to find a small hand-painted notebook, a bracelet and a postcard of Monet’s _Woman with a parasol facing left_. 

“It reminded me of you,” Troy explained, pointing at the picture, and Annie pulled him into a tight hug. 

She put on the bracelet and carefully placed the notebook and postcard in her purse, then sat on the couch, grabbing the unused pillow and throwing it at Abed, who caught it easily. 

“Let’s watch something,” she said, pulling the blanket over herself, “I’m exhausted.”

Abed nodded and sat beside her, then Troy sat next to him.

“I’m showing Troy _One Day at a Time_ ,” Abed told Annie, who clapped excitedly at the mention of the show, earning a surprised glare from Troy. 

“What?” she asked, “I like shows about powerful women.” 

“Fair enough,” Troy conceded, and rested his head on Abed’s shoulder as he pressed play on the second episode of the show. 

He listened to Abed and Annie talk over the show and point out their favorite parts, and before he knew it they were halfway through the season and his stomach had started grumbling. 

"Food," he groaned, gripping Abed's shirt, "please." 

"Buttered noodles?" Abed asked, pointing at him, and Troy nodded, "Buttered noodles?" He pointed at Annie. 

"I would love some," Annie replied, "do you want me to make them?" 

"No, you're the guests, I'll make them," Abed said and got up to head to the kitchen. 

"Like the show?" Annie asked Troy, shuffling a bit closer. 

"It's awesome," he replied, but his eyes kept darting towards the kitchen, catching glimpses of Abed moving around. 

Annie followed his gaze curiously, and smiled when she realized he simply couldn’t take his eyes off of Abed. 

“Abed might need some help,” she said, “should I-” 

“I’ll go,” Troy cut her off immediately, and tried to backtrack seeing her knowing grin, “you know, ‘cause you’re tired from your trip.” 

“Sure, sure,” she nodded. 

Troy entered the kitchen to the absolutely adorable sight of Abed humming softly as he prepared their lunch, and quietly walked over to him, apparently unnoticed. He gently placed a hand on Abed’s waist, but instead of relaxing into his touch the way he usually did, Abed stiffened and instinctively moved away from Troy’s hand, effectively shattering his heart into a thousand pieces. 

“Sorry,” Troy mumbled dejectedly, “I’ll just- I’ll go.” 

And with that he scurried back to Annie, who shot him a questioning look. He dropped down to the couch unceremoniously and groaned, hiding his face in his hands. 

“He keeps jumping away from me,” he whined, “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” 

Annie placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look up. 

“We… kissed and stuff,” he explained, “and now he just… seems scared of me. Fuck, he was never like this with me.” 

“You’ve been away for a long time, Troy,” Annie reasoned in a sweet voice, “he’s probably just overwhelmed.” He sighed loudly. “I’ll talk to him while you’re out, okay?” 

Troy sighed again, but this time it sounded more like relief. 

“Thanks, Annie,” he mumbled, wrapping her in a hug, “and uh-” he pulled away, keeping an arm on her shoulder- “I’m glad he had you while I was gone.” 

“I’m glad I have him,” Annie replied, “he’s probably my best friend at this point. And to think he thought we were Phoebe and Chandler.” 

“We’re Joey and Chandler,” Abed cut in, walking into the room balancing three bowls in his hands, “especially since you started going along with my goofy antics.” 

Annie hummed, taking a bowl from him and mouthing a _thank you_ , then made room for Abed to sit between her and Troy. She asked Troy what time his meeting with Pierce’s lawyer was and he said he would leave in about half an hour, meaning they could watch another episode while having lunch. Once they were done, Troy hugged them both goodbye for his last time as a non-millionaire, and left. 

“Okay, we gotta talk,” Annie said as soon as the door closed behind him. 

Abed nodded seriously, turning his entire body to face her, and crossing his legs on the couch. 

“Troy said you keep jumping away from him, and you said you’re losing your mind.” He nodded again. “Do you think maybe you’re overwhelmed?”

“Go on,” he said, furrowing his brows. 

“Well, your best friend who you’ve been in love with forever just came back after years of being gone,” Annie reasoned, “and hit you with the news that he loves you back, and as Troy put it you ‘kissed and stuff’-” she punctuated those words with air quotes “-I think maybe that’s a lot to take in.” 

“I think you’re right,” Abed replied, “but I don’t know how to fix it.” 

“You don’t have to fix anything, you just need to talk to him,” Annie explained, “ask him to go as slow as you need and tell him you might push him away sometimes but that doesn’t mean you love him any less.”

Abed nodded, finally feeling his brain begin to catch up. “It just means I need a little time.” He anticipated Annie’s response, pointing his finger at her, “And that’s normal.” 

“Exactly,” she said with a proud chuckle, “you just have to tell him.” 

“Okay,” Abed agreed, “will you help me figure out the words?”

“Of course!” Annie jumped up excitedly. “I’m gonna get my notebook!” She gasped and clapped her hands. “I can use my new one!” 

She ran to get it, then ran back to Abed and they spent the next hour or so figuring out the right way for him to talk to Troy, making lists and outlines that anyone but them would probably have deemed weird and unnecessary. Once they were done, she slammed the notebook close and handed it to Abed, to keep until he had talked to Troy. 

“You know what I’m thinking?” she asked with a glint in her eye. 

“Unfortunately I’m not telepathic,” Abed replied, and after a pause, “yet. But I think I do.”

He grabbed his laptop, already searching their usual website for yoga practice as she eagerly exclaimed, “Yoga!” 

“You’re predictable,” Abed quipped, picking a video. 

“Yoga is a wonderful way to clear your mind and find quietude while exercising your body,” Annie recited as if from a script, “now go change into the clothes I got you last Christmas.” 

Abed obliged, quickly changing into the colorful sweats Annie had gifted him, then walked back to the living room to find Annie had moved some chairs around to make room for their mats and set his laptop on the couch so it would be perfectly visible, all while somehow having changed in her own yoga attire. 

“How are you so quick?” he asked, “do you have a time-turner?” 

“I get that reference,” Annie replied happily, “and no, I’m just organized.”

“Okay. Let’s do this.” 

They exchanged the handshake they had finally figured out, and pressed play on the video.

  


***

  


As Troy sat in the back of an Uber heading back to Abed’s apartment, he tried to make sense of everything that had happened in the last… not even twenty-four hours. Damn. 

So he was a millionaire now, apparently. He just… had millions of dollars. Like that. That’s normal. 

But somehow, that wasn’t the craziest thing to him. The most insane, amazing, mind-blowing thing was that he and Abed were… together? Something like that. At least he really hoped they were, because at that point, it was pretty much everything he could ever want. 

“We’re here,” the driver announced, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“Thank you,” Troy said, climbing out of the car, “have a nice day.” He grabbed a fifty dollar bill, because duh, of course he’d wanted some cash to do some crazy rich people shit, and handed it to the driver. “Tip,” he explained, then walked away feeling super cool.

He opened the door to Abed’s building using the key Abed had given him ‘just for safety’ before he left, then climbed up the stairs to his apartment, all the while unable to shake a mesmerizing feeling of being home. He opened the door and his eyes widened at the sight before him. 

“Abed, stop!” Annie was saying, propped up in a weird- he guessed it was yoga- position. 

“I’m not doing anything,” Abed bit back, reaching from the same weird position to pinch her side again, “it’s not my fault you don’t have balance.”

Annie gasped, affronted. “I have balance! You’re sabotaging me. Sabotage!” 

She used her one raised leg to kick Abed’s causing him to almost lose his balance. 

“You sabotage!” he returned, gasping in the same way Annie had. 

Then the lady on the video said something about laying on their backs and bringing one leg down to the opposite side, which they both did, ending up with their legs tangled together as they glared at each other, pretending to be mad.

“What am I looking at?” Troy asked, finally making his presence known. 

Annie looked up, not leaving her position. 

“Yoga,” she explained, “how’s life as a millionaire?”

“Weird,” Troy replied, and sat down on the couch, continuing to stare at them, “y’all want some money?” 

“Yes,” Annie answered, offering Abed her hand to pull him up once the video had finished, “how much you offering?” 

“How much you want?” Troy asked, wagging his eyebrows. 

“All of it,” Annie replied with a grin. 

“That’s too much,” Troy concluded, “you get nothing.” 

Annie pouted as adorably as she could muster. 

“Fine, you can have all my money,” he conceded. 

“Yay!” she exclaimed with a small jump. “I’m gonna go shower,” she said then, and turned to give Abed a meaningful look that Troy didn’t understand before walking to the bathroom.

He watched silently as Abed picked up their mats, set them aside and pulled the chairs that had been moved back to their original spots. He waited as Abed went to the kitchen, coming back with two glasses of water, handed one to Troy and took a long sip from the other. He furrowed his brows as Abed picked up the notebook he had gifted Annie and sat beside him. 

“We should talk,” Abed said, and Troy nodded, ready to listen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it, if you did please leave a comment/kudos or Abed will sabotage you during yoga.


	3. just give me true love and understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically just my three favorite characters being adorable and dumb and frankly I think that's valid. I hope you enjoy. More introspection will follow next chapter, for now I offer you gay dumbasses. 
> 
> Title from "Hey Lover" by Daughters of Eve.

“We should talk.” 

Troy nodded, turning his body to face Abed, and Abed did the same. They sat cross-legged on the couch, Abed trying to find the courage to start talking, Troy trying to quell his anxiety enough to listen. 

Abed opened Annie’s notebook, and glanced at it as he spoke. 

“I’m really happy you’re back,” he said, and Troy wondered if he was reading, or at least following some notes, “because you’re my best friend, and also the man I’m in love with-” Troy’s heart skipped a beat there “-but it’s also a lot.” 

Abed braved a glance at Troy, and Troy offered him what he hoped was an encouraging smile. 

“After I realized I was in love with you, I had to get used to you not loving me back,” he continued, looking back down at the notebook, “and then when you were gone I had to get used to being without you. That second one was harder, because at least before I got to have you in almost every other way.”

“Abed…” Troy breathed, not really knowing what he wanted to say. 

Abed raised a finger, effectively shutting him up. 

“I got used to it, and maybe it was a good thing in some ways, learning to be on my own. I don’t wanna do it again, because I’d rather have my favorite person around, but at least I know I can.”

“You won’t have to do it again,” Troy assured him, “go on.” 

“You know how I am with change.” Troy nodded. “Well, good changes can be hard, too. After years of thinking you would never love me back this way, and then years of being apart from you, it’s overwhelming to have you be… everywhere, all around me and so in love with me. It’s wonderful, and the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but it’s also overwhelming.” 

Troy nodded again, and slowly reached towards Abed with his hand. He didn’t touch him, though, he let Abed decide where to take the gesture, and Abed did, taking Troy’s hand in his and holding onto it tightly. He looked away from the notebook and finally met Troy’s eyes.

“I want to be with you,” he said, “I’ve never wanted anything more.” 

“Me neither,” Troy replied, feeling tears prick his eyes. 

“I just need to take things a little slow. And sometimes I might need a little break from all the…-” he waved his hands vaguely “-couple-y stuff, to catch my breath.” 

Troy nodded, rubbing soothing circles onto the back of Abed’s hand with his thumb. 

“I can do that,” he said with a soft smile, then bit his lip as a sadder look took over his face, “I’m sorry that I caused you pain all these years.”

“Troy, I meant it when I told you to stop apologizing,” Abed countered, “if everything that happened was necessary to lead us to this moment right now, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the universe.” 

“Not even if you could be Batman?” Troy asked as tears started to roll down his cheeks. 

“Not even then,” Abed assured him, catching one of the tears with his thumb, “and I already am Batman. It still counts even if Annie broke the DVD.” 

“I said I was sorry!” Annie yelled from the bathroom, then caught herself, “I’m not eavesdropping! Shower noises!” 

“Great cover, Annie,” Troy yelled back with a laugh. 

“She knew what I wanted to tell you anyways,” Abed explained, “she helped me come up with it.”

“I’ll make sure to thank her, then,” Troy said, then in a louder tone added a “Thanks Annie!” 

“You’re welcome,” Annie replied in the same tone. 

“Can I kiss you now?” Troy asked Abed. 

“Fuck yeah, baby,” Abed answered, echoing Troy’s words from that morning, and leaned in to kiss him. 

Troy sighed happily into the kiss, winding his arms around Abed to pull him closer, tangling his fingers in his hair- which was quickly becoming one of his favorite things to do- and easily positioning himself between Abed’s legs when they parted to make room for him. He pulled back for a moment, breathless. 

“I know you were just quoting me-” Abed chased his lips, kissing him again before he could finish the thought, and Troy let himself be distracted for a bit, then pulled back again “-but that was kinda hot.” 

“Noted,” Abed replied, leaning back in and tilting his head just right. 

“Don’t mind me,” Annie muttered, walking past them with a hand raised to the side of her head to impede her view of the couch area, “just walking to my room.” 

Abed stopped kissing Troy for a second, as reluctantly as one could do anything. 

“Just give us ten minutes,” he told her, “I’m working through some stuff.”

“You’re working through Troy’s mouth,” Annie amusedly bit back, “but alright.”

“Thanks Annie, you’re the best,” Troy distractedly mumbled, before diving back into kissing Abed.

They kissed for a long time, then kissed some more, both reveling in how kissing the other felt like home and the most perfect thing ever. When they finally broke apart, Troy couldn’t pull his gaze away from Abed’s gorgeous face, his slightly parted lips, his heaving chest as he regained his breath. 

“You can say it,” Abed whispered, already reading the words in Troy’s eyes. 

Troy allowed them to slip out, and perhaps a couple of tears. 

“You’re beautiful. I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Abed breathed, “but it’s been ten minutes.”

Troy huffed out a quiet laugh and gave Abed a swift peck on the lips before calling out to Annie. 

“Ma’am, come back,” he shouted, readily wiping his eyes, “the gays are done.”

“The gays are never done,” Annie dead-panned, walking out of her room, “the gays are the bane of my existence.” 

“That would be so problematic if you weren’t also gay,” Abed pointed out. 

“Wait, you’re gay?” Troy asked with a surprised frown. 

“I’m bi,” Annie replied, dropping herself down to sit on Abed’s lap, “we’re bi buds. He helped me figure it out.” 

“Bi buds!” Abed sing-songed, and exchanged a handshake with Annie that was only slightly awkward because of their position.

“Wow, you guys got really close, huh?” Troy said, studying them. 

“Are you jealous?” Abed teased, wagging his eyebrows in that exaggerated way of his that Troy had always found so endearing. 

“Only if you want me to be,” Troy quipped back with a wink. 

“Please don’t flirt with Abed while I’m sitting on his lap,” Annie groaned, but her fond smile revealed the false nature of her annoyance. 

“No promises,” Troy shrugged.

“It’s almost dinnertime,” Annie promptly changed the subject, “what are we gonna eat?”

“Oh, I have an idea!” Troy clapped his hands excitedly, unable to sit still, “let’s use my insane amount of money to order from like ten different take-out places and eat until we feel sick.” 

Annie moved to the side a little, knowing Abed would want to handshake that, then sat back against him. 

“You guys are children,” she said, rolling her eyes, and then with a big smile and wide eyes, “and so am I. I’m in.” 

“So am I, obviously,” Abed cut in, in a monotone voice that wouldn’t betray his enthusiasm to anyone but his best friends, “it’s the best idea ever. I love you.” 

Troy pressed his lips together, and his face scrunched up in his ‘I’m about to cry’ look. 

“Man, you can’t just- you can’t give me a whole talk about going slow and then just throw that at me,” he whimpered. 

Abed chuckled and Annie sighed, playfully slapping his shoulder. 

“Good job, Abed, you broke Troy.” She stood up to go grab her phone so they could google good restaurants to order from. “I give you until I come back to fix him,” she instructed, wagging a finger at Abed, and he nodded dutifully. 

“C’mon, babe,” he said in a cool voice that Troy had to guess was a mix of characters, maybe some Jeff, and himself, “let’s order dinner.” 

“Stop that!” Troy exclaimed, flailing dramatically, and Abed laughed. 

“Actually, don’t,” he corrected himself, “actually I think you should say it again.” 

“You know pet names don’t come naturally to me,” Abed said, now a hundred percent himself, “I’m gonna have to practice a lot for them to sound right.” 

“I can live with that,” Troy replied with a smirk, then perked up a little, and with a more serious expression added, “but only if you’re comfortable with it.”

“I want to be,” Abed said, looking thoughtful, “babe?” 

The word sounded more like a question than anything else, but it still made heat rush to Troy’s cheeks and his heart skip a beat. 

“Yup,” he muttered, “that’s- that’s great.” 

“Are you done being stupid?” Annie asked, walking back to them, “Can we order dinner?”

“Never, but we can order dinner,” Troy answered. 

Annie rolled her eyes and sat back in Abed’s lap; he wound his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder to look at her phone. 

“First of all, pizza,” Troy instructed, “also tacos.”

“Sushi,” Annie added, tapping away at her phone, “ooh, and thai!” 

“Love it,” Troy agreed with a nod, “should we get indian?” 

“Approved. What else?” 

“Greek?” Abed offered, “maybe burgers?” 

“Oh yes, I want fries. Like a buttload.” Troy hunched over to look at Annie's phone. "Can you write that in? 'Buttload of fries’?" 

“Ice cream?” Annie proposed. 

“No, Annie, _gelato_ ,” Troy declared waving his hand in the most italian way he could muster, “that’s rich people ice-cream.” 

“It’s true,” Abed confirmed, “is there a buttered noodles take-out?” 

Troy snatched Annie’s phone out of her hands, earning an affronted yelp from her. 

“Sorry, Annie, gotta find Abed the best buttered noodles in the universe.” 

“Just do an italian place,” Annie suggested, “and get me some pasta while you’re at it.” 

“Cool. And last but not least-” he scrolled through some suggested places on Annie’s phone “-oh hell yeah. Some fried chicken.” 

“Cool, cool, cool.” Abed nodded and pointed his finger at Troy. “Gotta stay healthy.” 

“Exactly,” Troy said and tossed Annie’s phone back at her, earning another yelp. 

“Well,” Abed said, tapping on Annie’s side to ask her to stand, “I’m gonna take a shower.”

He stood up and Annie dropped back down to his place on the couch. 

“Without Troy?” she called after him as he headed to the bathroom. 

Troy’s eyes widened.

“Dude, are you flirting with Abed for me?” 

“Well, someone has to.” 

Troy gasped. “I am perfectly capable of flirting with Abed!” 

“Are you?” Annie teased. 

“Of course I am. I’ve been training my whole life for this.” 

Annie hummed, interested. “So flirting with Abed is your life’s purpose?” 

“Well, loving Abed. Flirting with him is part of it.” 

Annie _aww_ -ed loudly and hugged Troy tightly- perhaps a little too tightly. 

“Annie, I can’t breathe,” he croaked. 

She pulled back, looking at him with an endeared pout. 

“I was teasing but that was really cute, Troy.” She slapped his chest lightly. “You’re really cute.”

“Are you mad at me about it? Stop hitting me,” Troy said with a laugh, so Annie hit him again. 

“Are you trying to start a fight?” Troy grabbed her wrist and she limply swung at him with her other hand. “Annie, you’re tiny as hell.”

“So what? I can be tiny _and_ strong!” Annie retorted, and Troy simply quirked an eyebrow as she continued to hit his chest. 

“Annie, stop hitting Troy,” Abed’s voice came after a while, as he walked past them with only a towel wrapped around his waist. 

Troy dropped Annie’s wrist in order to gape at him, and Annie let out a laugh that sounded more like a snort.

“Troy, stop staring at naked Abed,” she said in the exact same tone Abed had just used and both men turned to look at her with wide eyes. 

“I’m not- _you’re_ staring at naked Abed!” Troy stammered and Annie simply shrugged.

“I’m not fully naked,” Abed calmly corrected her as Troy looked anywhere but at him, “and Troy, you can look at me if you want.” 

Troy hummed, still not looking at him, and Abed made no move to go to his room. Troy raised his head, and looked at Annie first, whose amused eyes were darting between them, then at Abed, who was staring at him expectantly. 

“What, you _want_ me to look at you?” he asked. 

“Well, it was flattering,” Abed simply stated, then snapped his fingers the way he did when he got a great idea, “oh, and you could say a cheesy phrase like-” he put on a deeper, douchier voice “‘-I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.’” 

Troy groaned loudly, feeling the fire in his cheeks spread to the rest of his body.

“Abed, I am _not_ saying that.” He relented at Abed’s disappointed pout. “But I will watch you leave, if you just go to your room and get dressed and-” he looked at Annie before saying the next part “-stop torturing me!” 

“Cool,” Abed said, and finally walked away. 

“No promises,” Annie shrugged. 

“Okay,” Troy sighed, turning back towards Annie once the bedroom door had closed behind Abed, “that man is not half as innocent as everyone thinks.” 

“Oh, trust me, I know,” Annie said with an amused grin, and defensively raised her hands when Troy shot her a look. “What, because we’re friends! Calm down, dude, I’m not stealing your boyfriend.” 

“He’s not my- wait, is he?” Troy stammered, his brows narrowing as his mind travelled a hundred miles an hour. 

“That sounds like a conversation you should have with him, not me,” Annie reasoned and Troy groaned loudly. 

Abed walked back out of his room right as the intercom buzzed, signaling the arrival of the first of their food. 

“Bet it’s sushi,” Abed quipped. 

“Chicken,” Annie countered. 

Troy grabbed his wallet, which he had made sure would be overflowing in the most cartoonish way possible, and opened the door for the delivery person, happily leaving them the biggest tip possible. 

“Awesome,” Abed muttered as Troy closed the door and handed him the bag of take-out. 

“Sushi,” he pointed out, “Annie, pay up.”

Annie huffed, then grabbed a bill out of Troy’s wallet and placed it in Abed’s open palm. 

“Hey, what the hell?” Troy half-heartedly protested. 

“Thanks, Annie.” Abed handed the bill back to Troy. “Get yourself something nice,” he said, punctuating the words with a wink and a click of his tongue. 

The intercom buzzed again, and that time it actually was the chicken, and the rest of the food followed, one after the other, as the three of them took turns paying excessive amounts for their many dinners. Once all the food had arrived they spread it around the table- and some of it on the coffee table, because it was way too much food to fit on just one table -then Annie pressed play on her ‘happy times playlist’ and they started eating their way through ten take-out orders to the beat of _Build Me Up Buttercup_. 

“When am I seeing everyone else?” Troy asked after a while, staring at a piece of sushi like it had done something to offend him. 

“Jeff, Britta and Shirley are coming here tomorrow,” Abed replied, still happily slurping his buttered noodles, “Frankie is too. You don’t know her, but she’s the best.” 

“She is,” Annie agreed, working her way through a bucket of chicken. 

“Was she my replacement after I left?” Troy asked, finally swallowing the piece of sushi.

“Not really,” Abed replied wistfully, “there was no replacement for you.” 

“Yeah, we had Hickey for a year or so, but he disappeared,” Annie added, then turned towards Abed with a curious expression, “where did he even go?” 

“I don’t know,” Abed shrugged, “but I wasn’t too sad to see him go. He did handcuff me to a cabinet.” 

“I’m sorry, he did what?” Troy’s eyes widened as he jumped up and took long strides towards Abed, until he was standing in front of him, towering over his best friend. 

“He handcuffed Abed to a cabinet a little bit after you left and was kind of an ass to him,” Annie explained, “Abed only told me after he left, otherwise I would have kicked his butt.” 

“I would have loved to see that,” Abed interjected, “anyways, Frankie arrived the year after. She’s a lot more like Annie than you, really. And there was Elroy, who also did not replace you.” 

“I’m still not over the handcuffing,” Troy mumbled, “I wanna kill that dude.” 

“Okay, calm down,” Abed said, grabbing Troy’s wrist, “I’m fine. It was years ago.” 

“If I’d been there-” Troy started, but Abed interrupted him quickly. 

“You weren’t,” he said, “and that’s fine. F-y-n-e. I mean, it was a boring few seasons but now we can have a great spin-off.”

“Or a rom-com,” Annie cut in. 

“Or that,” Abed agreed, pulling a still upset looking Troy down until he had no choice but to sit on Abed’s lap, and shoving a plate of noodles in his hands, “now eat some noodles and go back to being happy.” 

“Yes, sir,” Troy muttered, immediately relaxing as he leaned into his maybe-boyfriend’s touch. He really needed to have that talk with him. He would, as soon as they got a moment alone. 

Annie must have read his mind, because as soon as he thought that, she stood up and announced that she had a phone-call to make. 

“Is it your girlfriend?” Abed teased, and Troy’s eyebrows instinctively raised, both because of his words and the fact that Abed had apparently mastered the art of teasing his friends. 

“I told you she’s not my girlfriend, Abed. Every beautiful woman I work with is not my girlfriend.” Annie rolled her eyes, and started to walk away. 

“They had sex,” Abed stage-whispered to Troy, deliberately loud enough that Annie would hear it. 

She gasped. “I told you that in confidence!” 

“Everything you say to one of us might as well be said to both of us,” Troy said with a shrug, “oh and also, you go girl!” He snapped his fingers with a good amount of flair and Annie rolled her eyes again, closing the bedroom door behind herself. 

“I forgot about ‘you go girl’,” Abed mused, “why did we stop doing that?”

“I don’t know,” Troy replied, shifting a little so that he could more easily look at Abed, “but I got something more important to ask you.”

Abed nodded. “Shoot.” 

“Are we boyfriends?” he rushed out, “I mean, _can_ we be boyfriends?” He groaned, then took a deep breath, and more calmly reiterated, “I wanna be your boyfriend.” 

“I wanna be your boyfriend too,” Abed placidly replied, “let’s be boyfriends.”

“Cool, cool, cool,” Troy breathed. 

“That’s my line,” Abed said, pointing his finger at Troy. “But you’re my boyfriend, so you can use it,” he added, retracting it.

“Cool, cool, cool,” Troy repeated, his smile growing bigger by the second. 

“I think my boyfriend should kiss me now,” Abed said, his own lips curving into a pleased smile. 

“Your boyfriend agrees,” Troy murmured, already leaning in. 

The kiss was by far the messiest Troy had ever had, what with both of them being unable to stop smiling, but it was also one of the best, what with Abed being everything Troy could ever have wanted, and the fact that he got to kiss him being an actual dream come true. 

“I love you,” Abed whispered when they pulled back, resting his forehead against Troy’s. 

“I know,” Troy whispered back, “also, I love you too.” 

Abed kissed him again, tightening his grip around Troy’s waist as Troy interlaced his fingers behind Abed’s neck, and they continued to kiss slowly, sweetly, happily, until Annie’s door opened and they heard her pointedly clear her throat. They broke apart and turned towards her. After a beat, Troy turned back towards Abed, who raised his eyebrows meaningfully, and Troy immediately understood. 

“Troy and Abed being boyfriends!” they sang in unison, earning an excited gasp from Annie. 

“You guys!” She dashed towards them, and hugged them with such force that it made all three of them and the chair topple over, leaving them a mess of tangled limbs on the floor. 

“Thanks for breaking my fall, boyfriend,” Troy crooned as Annie relentlessly held on to them. 

“You’re welcome, boyfriend,” Abed replied, and Troy’s heart swelled at the clear giddiness in his _boyfriend’s_ voice. 

Annie rolled her eyes for probably the hundredth time that day as she finally pulled back. “You guys are insufferable, but I am _so_ happy for you.” She stood up, uselessly smoothing over the wrinkles in her clothes. “I am also exhausted, though, so I’m gonna go to sleep. Goodnight, boyfriends.” 

“Goodnight, Annie,” Troy called after her, and Abed waved and pretended to catch the kiss she blew at them. 

“Troy,” he said once she had left, “I think I’m gonna sleep on the couch tonight.” 

Troy’s face fell a little bit, despite his best efforts to hide his discontent at the fact that he wouldn’t get to hold the man he loved in his arms that night. 

“Don’t be sad about it,” Abed pleaded, “it’s just that a lot happened today, and I need to do that or I will explode and then you won’t have a boyfriend anymore because he exploded.” 

“Well, we can’t have that,” Troy conceded, his features relaxing. 

“Thank you,” Abed murmured.

“Of course,” Troy earnestly replied, “we can go as slow as you need, okay?” Abed nodded with a thankful smile. “But can I kiss you goodnight?” Troy asked, adding a small pout for emphasis. 

“Yup,” Abed assented, and Troy cupped his cheek with a hand, and gently closed the distance between them. 

“Goodnight, Abed,” he whispered against his lips, and kissed him one last time for good measure. 

“Goodnight, Troy,” Abed whispered back, and felt his heart burst joyfully in his chest as he watched Troy walk away with an easy smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Et voilà. I hope you liked that, if you did will you leave a comment and/or kudos? Pretty please with a cherry on top? (I'm trying different approaches.)


	4. if devotion is a river, then i'm floating away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is make-out central, and I think that's valid. It's also exploring the depth of their love and devotion for each other central, and that's even more valid. Please enjoy. 
> 
> Title chapter from "Love You For A Long Time" by Maggie Rogers, which I must have listened to a hundred times while writing this.

Troy was happy. That was a fact, plain and simple. 

He was happy when he woke up that morning and got up, his feet taking him to the couch where Abed had slept before his brain could even form a conscious thought. He was happy when he read the post-it Abed had left in lieu of his body: ‘Meeting with Bill for breakfast + work talk. Be back soon!' and then a smiley face and a heart. He was happy as he felt Annie’s arm snake around his waist while he grabbed a bowl for his cereal, and was even happier when she stood on her tiptoes to press a sleepy kiss to his cheek. He was happy as they sat next to each other and ate breakfast in silence, Troy hunching over to look at Annie’s phone, where she was reading the dozens of texts and e-mails her coworkers had sent while she was asleep. He was so much more than happy when Abed came back a little less than an hour later, bent down over the couch to press a kiss to Troy’s cheek and sat down to watch the rest of the _One Day at a Time_ episode with him. 

Troy felt like he was home, despite never having been to LA before. But LA had nothing to do with the feeling, he knew this. He would have felt at home anywhere, as long as Abed was there, looking at him with those gorgeous brown eyes, holding his hand, kissing him. He would have felt at home anywhere, as long as Abed was allowing Troy to love him, and loving him back. 

Their friends were scheduled to show up in the late afternoon, which meant Troy and Abed were free to spend the rest of the day being lazy, finishing _One Day at a Time_ and moving on to _Schitt’s Creek_ , occasionally being joined by Annie when she wasn’t busy doing some long-distance FBI work.

At one point, Troy wondered aloud whether they needed to get food and drinks for that night, and Abed answered that knowing their friends, they would probably want to drink (and also eat, but mostly drink), so they roped Annie into going grocery shopping with them and happily watched her roll her eyes as they filled their cart with all kinds of junk food and an excessive amount of beer and soda. Annie made them buy a couple of bottles of pretty good wine as well, Abed guessed in order to impress Frankie. 

Once back at the apartment, Annie insisted that Troy finally free the floor from his various bags and unpack his things, so Abed made space for him in his room -the gesture making Troy’s eyes well up just a little- and watched as Troy opened bag after bag and showed him the things he had collected on his journey. Troy handed Abed a shirt he had gotten in Japan, and Abed happily traded it for his own- it hung a bit large on his lanky frame, but Troy said he looked absolutely gorgeous, and looked at him with those dark, hungry eyes before kissing Abed in a way that made him a little dizzy, so he decided to keep it on. 

Once Troy was done, Abed patted the spot next to him on the bed and said, "Come here." 

Troy easily nestled into his arms, and Abed smiled, picking up Troy’s journal from his nightstand. He opened it to a random page, and started reading. 

“‘Dear Abed, I’m in Spain right now, but that really doesn’t matter. What matters is you. Okay, let me explain. I can’t stop thinking about you. I know we just called, but it’s not enough to just see your cute fucking smile through a computer with shitty internet connection, I need the real thing.’” Abed paused to look down at Troy, and gingerly smiled at him. 

“Perfect,” Troy mumbled, “thank you, baby.” 

Abed hummed, his heart jumping a little at the pet name, and resumed his reading. “‘I had a dream about you last night. Okay, I dream about you almost every night, but this one was really cool. I was still travelling, in some weird dream-land that doesn’t actually exist, then suddenly I turned around and there you were. You had long hair like when you were Jesus, maybe to like, show time had passed, but really it was probably just ‘cause I always thought you looked really hot like that.’” Abed looked at Troy again, raising his eyebrows. “You did?” 

“Yup,” Troy nodded, “there was something about the long hair and exposed chest that should have tipped me off to my gayness.” 

“I see,” Abed considered, “well, I still have the costume, you know?”

“That is very interesting information,” a flustered Troy replied, “that we will definitely need to revisit at a later time when all our friends aren’t about to show up including a very religious woman who would not appreciate you as Jesus being one of my turn-ons.” 

“Hm. Definitely not,” Abed agreed, “but I’ll keep that in mind.” 

Abed considered continuing to read the words that a lovesick, distant Troy had written him, but as a very real, very close Troy nuzzled into his neck to press a soft kiss, he decided that he could do it at another time, and focus on the real deal. He closed the journal, carefully put it down on his nightstand, and turned on his side to face Troy. 

“I’m so glad you’re home,” he whispered, the words leaving his mouth without warning his brain first. “I mean,” he scrambled to correct himself, “I know this isn’t your home, but I-” 

“It is,” Troy cut in, “well, you are. You’re my home.” 

“Oh,” was all Abed could reply, before he just had to lean in and kiss Troy. “You’re mine,” he added as he pulled back. 

“Mhm,” Troy hummed contentedly, “I _am_ yours. Any way you want me.” 

“Well,” Abed replied, so much heat in his cheeks he feared they might just catch fire, “I like you just like this.” 

“Cool,” Troy mumbled, letting his eyes flutter close as Abed leaned in for another kiss, and in a matter of seconds Abed was on top of him, holding himself up with one arm as the other one was busy exploring Troy’s torso, his legs on either side of Troy. 

They kissed until they couldn’t breathe anymore, then Abed dipped his head down and placed a tentative kiss to Troy’s neck, and when Troy hummed in pleasure he continued, growing bolder each time, and slipped a hand under Troy’s shirt, overtaken by a need stronger than he had ever felt before. 

He groaned when the intercom buzzed, meaning their friends had arrived, and laughed when Troy did the same. 

“I just saw these guys a few months ago, but are you really whining about seeing your friends again after _years_?” he asked. 

“Well, I was kind of enjoying myself,” Troy mumbled in response. 

Abed considered this with a low hum, and pressed a quick peck to Troy’s lips before standing up. “To be continued,” he declared, and rushed to open the door to their friends.

Troy followed Abed to the door, where Annie was already waiting, and in the matter of a few seconds he was being passed around by his friends, going from one hug to another, being carefully observed by everyone and receiving multiple comments over every slight difference in his appearance since the last time they had seen him. They moved on to greet Annie and Abed, and the woman who Troy guessed had to be Frankie extended a hand for him to shake. 

“Pleasure to meet you,” she said, her smooth voice dripping with professionality in a way that made Troy wonder how the hell she had become part of such a messy group, “I’m Frankie. They hired me as a consultant to save Greendale after you left.” 

“Cool,” Troy replied, shaking her hand as firmly as he could, because for some reason he really wanted to impress this woman, “I’m Troy.”

“I know, they wouldn’t stop talking about you,” Frankie said and, shooting Abed a glance, added, “especially him.” She hesitated for a moment then decided what the hell, this wasn’t a friend group known for its respect for social norms, and asked, “You’re together, right?” 

Troy’s eyes widened. “How do you know that?” He looked around suspiciously and lowered his voice. “Are you psychic? What number am I thinking of right now?” 

“I’m not psychic,” she chuckled, “it’s just sort of obvious.” Troy looked confused, so she explained, “It’s the way you look at each other, first of all. Plus, your neck is a little covered in hickeys-” Troy’s hand flew to cover his neck as blood rushed to his cheeks “-and judging by the smug look on Abed’s face when he looked at them, it’s pretty clear who gave them to you.”

“Damn,” Troy breathed, “you got all that in like, two minutes? You are _good_.” 

“I know,” Frankie replied with a smirk, then a curious look painted her face, “hey, did you ever play the steel drums?” 

“No,” Troy answered, taken aback, “why?” 

“No reason,” Frankie quickly said, “completely unrelated: I’m gonna go punch Jeff. It was lovely to meet you.” 

Troy amusedly nodded as the woman rushed towards Jeff, and Britta and Shirley made their way back to him to bombard him with questions about his time away. A little bit later, Jeff deemed it late enough to start drinking, and beer bottles began to be opened and passed around, accompanied by chips, pop-corn, and as per Annie’s insistence, some vegetables. 

Once Britta and Shirley had exhausted their questions for Troy, and Troy was more than a little out of breath, his eyes darted around the room to find Abed’s, which were already fixed on him. He smiled at the man, and stood up from the couch where he had been sitting for the last hour or so. 

“Abed,” he said as casually as he could, “will you come help me in the kitchen for a second?”

Abed hummed with a little smile of his own, and followed Troy into the kitchen. Troy closed the door behind them, and immediately found himself with an armful of Abed as the other man grabbed Troy’s face in his hands and kissed him soundly. 

“That’s-” he stuttered when they pulled apart “-that was great, but uh- I wanted to ask you something.” 

“Oh,” Abed said, “sorry, I thought we were doing a secret make-out scene.” 

“Oh, we can definitely do _that_ ,” Troy said, “but if we do it before I ask you this, I’ll definitely forget.” Abed nodded and he continued, “Do we tell the others about us? We don’t have to if you’re not ready, but uh- Frankie kind of already knows.” 

Abed’s eyes widened. “Is she psychic?” 

“No,” Troy replied, “I asked her. She saw these-” he gestured at his neck- “so that was a fun first conversation.” 

“They aren’t that visible,” Abed said, “she’s just a good observer. The others won’t notice.” He brought his hand to Troy’s neck and traced his fingers over the bruises as a pleased smile spread on his face, and a shiver went up Troy’s spine. “We can tell them if you want.” He pressed a kiss to Troy’s lips, tasting the beer he had been drinking. “Or we can make it more fun, and just act like a couple and see how long it takes them to figure out.” 

“How coupley we talking?” Troy asked with a raise of his eyebrows. 

Abed simply shrugged, and pressed his lips to Troy’s again, easily winding an arm around his waist to pull him closer. 

“Alright, Nadir,” Troy mumbled against his lips, “how much beer have you had?” 

“A sip or two,” Abed casually replied, “it’s not the alcohol that’s making me want to touch and kiss you all the time, it’s just you.” 

“That’s the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me,” Troy chuckled, and pulled Abed down into another kiss. 

“It wasn’t that sexy,” Abed clarified smugly, “you’re just really into me.” 

“Damn right I am,” Troy mumbled and kissed him again. 

They continued their secret make-out scene until they heard the door open, and broke apart to see Frankie had just walked in. 

“Sorry,” she sheepishly said, “Annie sent me to get a bottle of wine. I now understand she had _me_ do it because she knew this was likely happening.” 

Abed let go of Troy and grabbed said bottle of wine to hand it to Frankie. 

“It’s okay. We should go back there anyways,” he replied. 

“Hey, you didn’t tell anyone about us, did you?” Troy asked Frankie before she could leave.

“Of course not,” she replied, “it’s none of my business. But if you keep sneaking off to make out they might just get a clue.” 

“You overestimate them,” Abed interjected, and Frankie couldn’t help but agree. 

When they joined the others again, Abed sat down next to Troy and put an arm around his shoulders, and Troy happily leaned into the touch as he took a sip of his beer. With every drop he drank he nuzzled further into Abed’s neck, and paid less and less attention to everything surrounding them, finding himself unable to concentrate on anything but _Abed_. 

Abed started talking at one point, and Troy couldn’t focus on what he was saying, and maybe he was a little tipsy, but _god_ , how had he survived without hearing that voice all the time for so long? He opened his eyes when Abed nudged him- he hadn’t even realized he’d closed them -and when he raised his head to look at him, the room spinned for a few seconds. Okay, maybe he was more than a little tipsy, but he wasn’t seeing double yet, so he was fine. 

“Are you listening to me?” Abed asked, and Troy finally tuned in. 

“Huh?” he mumbled. 

“I said we could order some pizza since the food we bought is almost finished,” Abed repeated. 

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Troy slurred, “pizza sounds great.” 

Abed smiled and stopped talking, and Troy really missed his voice, so he grabbed Abed’s face in his hands and tried to give him an intense look. “Say something else,” he said. 

“Uh, okay,” Abed replied, somewhere between confused and amused, “can you pay for the pizza with your millionaire money?” 

Troy hummed in agreement, then gestured for Abed to keep talking. 

“I don’t know what else to say,” he admitted. 

“Just say random words, I wanna hear your voice,” Troy whined. 

“I forgot how you get when you drink,” Abed observed, “this is a whole new level though. It’s cute.” 

“ _You’re_ cute,” Troy replied, then looked around, remembering their friends were there. “Hey, do you think anyone noticed yet?” he asked, turning back towards Abed. 

Abed hummed thoughtfully. “Britta, maybe. She’s looking at us like she might be putting things together. Jeff’s nowhere near realizing.” 

“Cool,” Troy nodded, then stood up -stumbling a little as he did- and grabbed Abed’s hand to pull him up as well. “We’re gonna go order pizza,” he announced to the others, and started to drag him towards his bedroom. 

“You know we can do it here? There’s a website,” Abed told him. 

“Dude, we’re not going to order pizza,” Troy whispered, “I mean, we are, but that’s not the reason we’re leaving.”

“Oh.” Abed followed Troy into his room and stared at his back as he closed the door behind them. “Then what is it?” 

Troy turned around and swept Abed into his arms. 

“This,” he whispered, and kissed him with all his might. 

“Oh,” Abed breathed when they broke apart, “cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool.” 

"Stop talking and kiss me again," Troy mumbled and Abed did just that. 

"I thought you wanted me to talk," Abed said in between kisses. 

"Not when there's better things you could be doing with your mouth," Troy replied. 

"Alright, I'm cool with that," Abed conceded, and pushed Troy backwards until he had no choice but to drop onto Abed’s bed, sitting and pulling Abed down onto his lap. 

Abed went for his neck again, desperate to feel Troy’s soft skin beneath his lips once more, and pressed gentle kisses all over, eliciting quiet, pleased sighs from his boyfriend, whose hands were roaming over his back, until they reached the hem of his shirt and stopped. 

Abed pulled back to look Troy in the eyes and give him a nod of approval, and Troy let his fingers slip beneath Abed’s shirt, and Abed shivered as he made contact with his skin, brushed his fingers against it in the most tender of ways. 

“No one’s ever touched me like you,” he whispered, his lips ghosting over Troy’s. 

“How’s that?” Troy asked. 

“Delicate,” Abed replied after a beat, “and reverent, like I’m something precious.” 

“You are,” Troy murmured earnestly, “you’re a work of art.” 

Abed closed his eyes, and Troy’s caresses became even softer, as if he knew every inch of Abed’s body was burning underneath his touch, both trembling as it was almost too much, and longing for more. He opened his eyes after a few seconds, and when he met Troy’s gaze again he saw the drunken fog had lifted, and all that was left was honesty, devotion, and love. 

“Fuck,” he muttered, and kissed Troy with all the emotions that were filling up his body, the love that had been forced to lay dormant for years and pretend it didn’t exist, and was now allowed to overflow, and spill out onto Troy’s lips, onto his skin, onto every part of him Abed could reach. 

He let a secret side of him come out, the side that was so openly emotional that it would certainly cause Jeff to make some borderline offensive joke about how unusual that was for Abed, the side that Troy had been allowed to see a few times before, and sometimes Annie, but never quite like this. No one had ever seen it like this, not even Abed. He’d let it seep through before, when he touched Troy a little softer, or let his gaze linger on him a little longer, or when Troy had fallen asleep in his arms and he’d placed a swift kiss on his forehead. But now it finally had the chance to come out at full force, and it scared Abed a little, just how powerfully he could feel when he allowed himself to. 

He’d never been loved the way he was loved by Troy, never been looked at with so much adoration, but he’d also never loved anyone the way he loved Troy, and that was perhaps even more astounding. He had never wanted to be so close to someone, had never been interested in the long, quiet stretches in conversations when neither person has anything new to say, so they simply stay, content just to be with each other. He’d warned Troy against that once, a long time before, but it seemed foolish now, worrying about something so trivial, now that he knew he could never get enough of Troy, now that he knew he’d rather sit in silence with him than visit the set of his favorite show. (That wasn’t an exaggeration- he’d tried both things, and could honestly said he enjoyed the former more.)

He had never had the chance to love anyone like this, because before he could have a meaningful relationship with anyone else, Troy had swooped in and stolen his heart, and suddenly there could be no one else, and Abed learned to be content with hiding his love away, turning it into a platonic, watered down version that would be acceptable to the more conservative audiences. He had loved Rachel, in a way, had cared about her and found solace in her that he hadn’t been able to find anywhere else, but even with someone as lovely as her, it had never felt quite as right as it did in that moment, as he tangled his fingers in Troy’s hair, and guided his head back so he could press a kiss just above his Adam’s apple. 

“I love you,” he couldn’t keep himself from whispering, and now he was the reverent one, adoration dripping from his voice and threatening to spill from his eyes, “I love you so much.” 

Troy had been about to say it back, his lips had parted and Abed had heard the first syllable, but suddenly the door was flung open and the words hung in the air between them, unsaid. Abed saw some kind of fear form in Troy’s eyes as he took his hands off of Abed and left his skin feeling unbearably cold where he had been touching him moments before; he turned around, slowly, afraid to see what had caused his boyfriend to shut down that way. A lump formed in his throat when he saw Shirley standing in the doorway, her hands clasped together in front of her chest, and a look on her face that hit Abed like a dagger through his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh, cliffhanger?! Well, folks, you know the drill: kudos, comments, pretty please? Thank you for reading!


	5. you say what if i give up, i say that's one thing that i'll never let you do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to... resolve that cliffhanger, kiddos. Fair warning: this chapter deals with homophobia- internalized and not -though it is mostly in a "don't worry, you're worthy and you'll be okay" kind of way, but still, don't wanna risk upsetting anyone. If this is something you struggle with, hey, don't worry, you're worthy and you'll be okay. 
> 
> Also, say hello to a ton of Frankie Dart content because come on, she and Troy would have been a wlw/mlm duo for the ages. 
> 
> Title is from "So Will I" by Ben Platt. Enjoy.

Abed climbed off of Troy and sat down next to him. He ached to reach out and take his hand, but was afraid that would make the situation worse, so he held himself back. 

“Please say something,” he begged Shirley when the silence had stretched on for far too long, and the nervous energy radiating from Troy had become all kinds of unbearable. 

“Tell me I didn’t just see what I think I saw,” she said, her voice low and strained. 

“I could do that, but I would be lying,” Abed replied matter-of-factly. 

He had always expected Shirley to react badly to the discovery of his sexuality, it’s why he had never said anything about it to anyone other than Annie. It had never looked like he would get to act on his feelings for Troy anyways, and after things with Rachel had ended he’d pretty much accepted he wouldn’t be able to love anyone else, so it really didn’t seem like necessary information to share. 

He was prepared for this, though, had always kept just enough distance not to get too hurt when she inevitably grew disgusted at the discovery of his true self- her many homophobic remarks over the years had given him something of a hint at how she might react, after all. What really worried him was how this might affect Troy. 

Troy had always been closer to Shirley than him, finding her to be the caring mother his own had often failed to be; he had bonded with her in ways Abed had never even cared to try, and now Abed was afraid that it might just result in heartbreak. 

“Abed,” he heard Troy brokenly whisper, and was shaken out of his thoughts. 

Troy was reaching for him, his hand blindly searching for Abed’s as he stared straight ahead, unable to move his gaze away from Shirley. 

“I’m here,” Abed replied, and took Troy’s hand in his. 

“Hey guys,” Annie’s voice came, and Abed raised his eyes to meet hers as she joined Shirley on the threshold, and watched as a sad realization hit her. “Oh,” she breathed, and soon enough everyone else was there, and Abed could feel all their eyes on him, and wished he could just teleport himself and Troy away. 

“What’s going on?” Britta asked, her voice a little too loud as it often got when she was drunk. 

Abed looked at Troy again. His gaze had finally dropped and he was staring at the floor, and Abed could see the glint of unshed tears in his eyes. 

“We’re together,” he replied, “Troy and I are together.” 

“Huh?” Britta confusedly mouthed, and stumbled backwards a little bit. 

Jeff looked uninterested and a little far away, as he was very obviously also drunk, while Shirley looked upset and hurt, as if they had insulted her simply by loving each other. 

“Oh Lord, forgive them,” he heard her mumble, and suddenly felt anger take over him. 

“We don’t need forgiveness,” he replied with a bite he had rarely heard in his own voice, “we’re perfectly fine.” 

Shirley stared at him, and he refused to back down, staring back at her with all the pride and intensity he could muster. 

“I can’t do this right now,” she finally sighed, and left the apartment without another word, the slamming of the door behind her causing Troy to wince. 

“Troy,” he said immediately, turning his entire body to face him. Everyone was still looking at them, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the love of his life, folding in on himself and falling apart before Abed’s very eyes. “Troy, please talk to me,” he whispered, cupping his cheeks with both hands and urging him to look up. 

Troy did, but said nothing, just cried quietly while staring back at him. It broke Abed’s heart into a million pieces. 

“Troy, sweetie,” Annie said, kneeling in front of him and placing a delicate hand on his leg, “please say something.” 

Abed turned and locked eyes with Frankie, and fortunately didn’t have to say anything before she nodded and ushered Britta and Jeff away, closing the door behind them. 

“She hates me now,” Troy finally mumbled, “she hates me, and so does my family.” 

“She’ll come around,” Annie tried to reassure him. 

“You don’t know that!” he exclaimed, “My family _never_ came around, why should she?”

“I’m sorry,” Annie dejectedly replied, unable to come up with a better response. 

“Breathe,” Abed instructed him, “I got you, okay?” 

Troy nodded almost imperceptibly and rested his forehead against Abed’s as he took long breaths, matching their rhythm to that of Abed’s. After a few minutes he seemed to have calmed down slightly, and leaned his head back to look at Abed again. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. 

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Abed replied, and then with the same bite as earlier added, “she does.” 

“It was easier before.” Troy’s voice was barely audible, and sadder than Abed had ever heard it be. “It was so easy when I wasn’t here. That’s why I kept finding reasons not to come back- because I knew when I did I would have to hate myself again.” 

Abed could swear he had felt his heart break when Troy said that; he was sure his heart would never be intact again, would simply have to find a way to work while shattered in a million pieces. 

“It’s a lot easier to accept yourself when you’re the only one who has to,” Troy continued miserably. 

“I love you,” was all Abed could think of saying, “I love everything about you. I always have.” 

“I know, baby,” Troy whispered, and pulled him into a hug, “I love you too.” 

When he pulled back, he grabbed Abed’s hand with one of his, and Annie’s with the other. 

“There’s a part of me that hates me,” he said, and Abed could see how difficult it was for him to get the words out, so he rubbed Troy’s hand with his thumb hoping to give him some sort of comfort. “There’s a part of me who still thinks I should be a cool jock who likes girls and doesn’t care about Christmas. Instead of like, everything my parents never wanted me to be.” 

“You’re perfect,” Abed replied, hoping Troy would know how much he meant it, “I’m not who my parents wanted either. Neither is Annie. But you don’t love us any less, do you?” 

Troy shook his head. 

“There’s people who will love you for who you are,” Annie finished for him, then with a small smile added, “you got two of ‘em right here.” 

Abed nodded, and Troy tugged on Annie’s hand to lift her up, then drew her into a hug together with Abed. “I love you guys so much,” he mumbled, his words muffled against Abed’s shoulder, “I really, really do.” 

“I love you, too,” Annie replied. 

“I love you,” Abed said as well, but once didn’t feel like enough, so again he said, “I love you.” He pressed a kiss to Troy’s neck, and it still didn’t feel like enough. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” He would continue to say it, would continue to hold him, until it felt like enough. 

  


***

  


When they walked out of Annie’s bedroom, they found Frankie sitting on an armchair in the living room, reading a book she must have brought with her. She looked up and set her book aside, shooting Troy a supportive smile. 

“Britta and Jeff went back to the hotel- I got them an Uber, don’t worry.” She stood up, and placed a careful hand on Troy’s shoulder. “I wanted to see how you were doing before I left.” 

“That’s really sweet,” Troy commented, both moved and surprised, “you barely know me.”

Frankie sighed, and looked down for a moment, biting her lip in what looked almost like discomfort. “Well,” she said, looking back up at Troy, “I know something about how you feel right now. I’ve been there before.” 

“You have?” Troy asked, and she nodded. 

“I don’t make a habit of telling people about my personal business, but yes, I am a lesbian-” she shot a look at Annie, mentally chastizing her for betting on her sexuality years before- “and let’s just say my family doesn’t love that about me.” 

“Oh,” Troy mouthed sadly, looking down the same way she had. He looked back up after a moment, and shuffled on his feet a little nervously. “I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but uh- can I hug you?” he asked. 

Frankie nodded, and Troy wound his arms around her before she could even voice her answer. She held him fiercely in her arms, hoping to transmit some of the strength and hope she had gathered in her years. 

“You’ll be okay,” she whispered, and for some reason Troy couldn’t help but believe this woman he had just met. 

  


***

  


“How is he?” Annie asked Abed as soon as he walked out of his bedroom the next morning. 

She was still in her pyjamas, holding a mug of coffee, and looking like she hadn’t slept very well- pretty much the same as Abed, minus the coffee. 

“He’s still sleeping,” he answered, and headed to the kitchen. Annie followed him, filled a mug with coffee and handed it to him. Abed looked at it for a moment too long, and when he looked back up he found Annie’s cautious eyes on him. 

“I’m worried about him,” he said. 

“He’s gonna be okay,” Annie reassured him, “it’s _Troy_.” 

“Everyone has a breaking point,” Abed said with a small shrug, and immediately wished he hadn’t when he saw the sad look that took over Annie’s face. 

He poured himself a bowl of cereal and ate it in silence, despite not having much of an appetite, while Annie stared with that same sad look on her face.

Troy walked out of Abed’s bedroom after a while, when they had moved to the couch to watch some cartoons but still not changed out of their pyjamas, and he immediately made a beeline for Abed, sat beside him and nuzzled into his side.

“How are you doing?” Abed asked, and pressed a kiss to the top of Troy’s head. 

“Next question,” he mumbled, his voice muffled against Abed’s chest. 

“Okay-” he thought for a moment “-do you still want to see the others today?” 

Troy raised his head, his face scrunched up in thought, then nodded. “Yeah, I do. I really wanna see Frankie, honestly. I think I love her.” 

“She has that effect on people,” Annie said, nodding gravely. 

Abed turned to her with a frown. “You hated her at first.” 

“I was young and naive!” Annie exclaimed, then stood up with a huff. “I’ll go text the others. Is meeting for lunch okay?” 

Abed looked at Troy for a reply, and only nodded after he did. Annie left to go do as said, and Abed fully turned towards Troy. 

“Do you want breakfast?” he asked. 

“I’m not hungry,” Troy muttered, “can you just hold me for a while?” 

“Of course,” Abed said, and tightened his grip around Troy, who sighed as he buried his face in Abed’s chest. 

“What are we gonna do today?” he asked. 

“We could visit the set of the show I work on,” Abed replied, “Bill did tell me there’s some stuff I should take care of, so-” 

“Oh, cool!” Troy exclaimed and raised his head excitedly, “I can’t wait to see where you work, babe.” 

“I’m barely more than an assistant, don’t expect too much,” Abed said a little bashfully. 

“Well, I’m sure you’re the most talented person to work on that show,” Troy declared. 

“You’re really sweet, but that’s factually inaccurate,” Abed replied, “anyways, I guess we can just walk around LA afterwards. We’re bound to find someplace cool for you guys to visit. Annie probably knows more than me, really.” 

Troy hummed, “Yeah, she’s probably got an itinerary ready for us.” 

He yawned then, and rested his head back on Abed’s chest. 

“You can sleep a little longer,” Abed said in a low tone, “I’ll be your pillow.” 

“You’re the best pillow ever,” Troy mumbled, and let his eyes flutter close.

  


***

  


They met up with Jeff, Britta and Frankie at a sandwich place close to where Abed worked- a place Annie had made sure would have tons of vegan options for Britta.

“Shirley’s not here,” Troy said, pointing out the obvious. 

“Something came up with her kids,” Jeff replied, putting very little work in the lie, probably because he knew Troy wouldn’t believe it anyways.

“Sure,” Troy said unconvincingly, and smiled a little when Abed grabbed his hand. 

Everyone seemed to work really hard to keep the conversation away from what they probably deemed to be risky topics. This meant that Abed and Troy received an uncharacteristically low number of comments or questions about their relationship- or, actually, none. 

Troy guessed it was out of good intentions, so he tried not to be annoyed by it, but well, let’s just say it didn’t work. 

“Seriously?” he snapped after one too many detours about Britta’s cats, “You guys just aren’t gonna say anything about the fact that Abed and I are finally dating?” 

Britta and Jeff simply gaped at him, looking mortified. 

“Britta, you don’t have like a-” he waved his hands around heatedly “-weird, slightly offensive but supportive speech to make? Jeff, you don’t have a sarcastic comment or something? Nothing, really? Do you really not care? Or are you just- just gonna ignore this and then leave just like Shirley did?”

“Troy,” Annie weakly chastised him, “I think they were just trying to be, you know, nice.” 

“Okay,” Troy continued, growing angrier by the second, “why didn’t y’all think to be nice before? Like when you kept saying all that stuff about how weird and gay Abed and I were, like it was something we should be ashamed of? Maybe I wouldn’t have needed to get away from all of you to be okay with myself if you were _nice_ then.” 

“Troy-” it was Abed’s turn to cut in then, with a gentle hand on his arm and a low whisper. Troy expected him to ask him to stop talking, to tell him to calm down and not attack his friends like that, but instead he simply said, “Breathe.” 

Troy did. He took a long, shaky breath, and realized he had kind of been forgetting to do that. 

“I need to get some air,” he mumbled, and hurriedly stepped out. 

“What the fuck?” was all Jeff could utter. 

“He has a point,” Abed simply said, and stood up to follow his boyfriend. 

“Seriously, guys, just apologize,” he heard Annie mutter harshly on his way out. 

Once outside, he alerted Troy of his presence with a soft “Hey,” and Troy returned a slightly sadder one. 

“I didn’t know if you wanted to be alone,” he said. 

Troy shrugged, “You’re pretty much always allowed to follow me.” 

“Oh,” Abed said, “could’ve told me that before I let you leave for like three years.”

That managed to get a breathy laugh out of Troy, which Abed counted as a win. 

“I’m proud of you, you know?” he continued. Troy looked at him a little curiously, so he explained himself better, “I know it’s not easy to accept who you are. And I know our study group wasn’t the best place to be for that. Maybe if I’d come out to you, you would’ve felt less alone- we both would have. The point is I’m proud of you, and you should be too.” 

“I am,” Troy replied quietly, “I think. Sometimes.” 

“You should be all the time. You’re really awesome. And I might be biased, since I’m your boyfriend and all, but I think being gay just makes you more awesome.” 

Troy chuckled a little -another win- and leaned his head on Abed’s shoulder. “Yeah, I think you might be a little biased.” 

Abed smiled and put his arm around Troy’s shoulder. 

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too,” Troy replied, “we should probably go back in.” 

“We can stay a little longer,” Abed said softly, and hugged Troy a little closer, “as long as you need.”

  


***

  


“Troy, Jeff and I would like to apologize,” Britta ceremoniously proclaimed once they had joined the group again, “we haven’t been the most supportive of friends and may have inadvertently hindered your journey of self-discovery, and for that we are sorry.” 

“I understood like, half of that, but thanks,” Troy replied. 

“We’re proud of you,” Jeff added, a little reluctant, but honest, “and we’re really happy you two are together. You’re a great couple.” 

“Thank you, we are,” Abed agreed with a nod and Troy smiled and interlaced their fingers beneath the table. He loved that man so damn much. 

“Sorry I blew up at you guys,” he said then, “I don’t know if y’all ever had to like, realize you’re gay and come out and all that, but it’s not easy.” 

Abed, Annie and Frankie all nodded in understanding, while Britta and Jeff exchanged a look, the meaning of which Troy wasn’t quite sure about. 

“Well, it’s okay,” Britta replied with a sweet smile. 

The rest of the lunch went by smoothly, and Troy’s nerves relaxed a good amount. Afterwards, the group headed to Abed’s work, and he got them visitor passes so they could walk around pretty much freely; he showed everyone around the set until he was dragged away by Bill in a hurry, and quickly warned everyone not to cause any trouble and to stay out of people’s way, before going with them to take care of whatever it was he needed to take care of. 

Britta excitedly followed a show consultant around, and Annie followed her, ready to stop her from doing anything that could cost Abed his job, while Jeff was carefully studying an actor’s muscles, probably comparing them to his own. 

Troy was standing out of everyone’s way, just looking at Abed and Bill in the distance, hunched over a desk and talking about something Troy probably wouldn’t understand. It was quite a sight -at least for someone who was head over heels for the man- the way Abed fit perfectly on a set, the way he moved around easily, smiling at his coworkers and giving the perfect advice to make a scene better. It was as if he’d finally found his place, a place where he truly fit in, and the people he fit in with, and maybe, had it happened a few years before, Troy would have been a little jealous- or even more than a little- but not anymore, because after all that had happened in the last few days, after having seen how their love for each other hadn’t faltered during years apart, he could no longer have any doubts about his place in Abed’s life, or his heart. 

“Hey.” He turned around to see Frankie had joined him and returned the greeting with a small smile. “How are you doing?” she asked. 

“I think I’m okay,” he answered, then after a beat, added, “almost.”

“I’m sorry about Shirley,” she said, “and I know it’s probably hard to talk about, but if you need to, you can do that with me.” Her brows furrowed a little then, and her voice became tinged with a sort of insecurity that didn’t suit her very well, “I mean, I know you probably have other people to do that with, but you know-”

“Thank you,” Troy interrupted her, “seriously. You don’t need to be so nice to me, but you keep doing it, and it’s pretty awesome of you.” 

Frankie smiled, “Honestly, I think I got attached to you through Abed and Annie’s stories. They talked about you a lot.”

“Yeah, that must’ve been annoying,” Troy said with a laugh, “I kept telling LeVar about them and I honestly think he started wearing earplugs at one point.” 

Frankie laughed, then her expression turned thoughtful, sparking Troy’s curiosity. 

“You know,” she said, “he told me about you for _hours_ once. It was your birthday, and he was pretty sad, because he said you had a birthday tradition -recreating a movie together or something, right?” Troy nodded and smiled fondly, and she continued, “Well, he was sad because you couldn’t do it that year, and I said, ‘Alright, let’s just celebrate his birthday anyways,’ so we all got together and had a big party for you, and he just sat next to me and told me everything about you. I think he wanted me to understand why you were so important.” She paused for a moment, and smiled. “And I did. Of course I understood, Abed loves you _so_ it just... spreads to everyone around him. Then I asked him, ‘You love him, right?’ and he just said, ‘Of course I do. How could I not?’” She paused again, and finally locked eyes with him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a love like that, Troy,” she said, “it’s pretty precious.” 

“It is,” he said, on the verge of tears, “ _he_ is.” 

“You are, too,” Frankie said, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m a bit of a mess too,” Troy said, and it sounded more like a sob than anything else.

“Who isn’t?” Frankie replied with a small laugh, then turned serious again, and looked at Troy with such intensity it almost made him tremble. “Troy, you don’t need anyone’s approval but your own,” she said, “I know it hurts when people don’t accept us for who we are, but there’s people who see you and utterly adore everything that you are. The ones who don’t, they’re just missing out on something wonderful.” 

Troy was in tears by the time she finished her little speech, and he flung his arms around her to draw her into a hug.

“Will you be my supportive lesbian mom?” he mumbled against her shoulder. 

She laughed, “If I can be a little emotionally closed off and don’t have to give you the sex talk.” 

“Deal,” Troy agreed, and joined in her laughter. 

“What’s going on here?” Abed asked, walking up to them with a smile. 

They pulled back, and Troy wiped the tears from his eyes while Frankie proudly said, “I’m bonding with your boyfriend.” 

“Cool,” Abed commented, “I always thought you would make a great duo.” 

“Right as always, babe,” Troy said, and leaned in for a kiss, but stopped right when he was a few centimetres away from Abed’s lips. “Can I kiss you in your place of work?” he asked with a small frown. 

“Yep,” Abed replied, and leaned in to peck Troy’s lips. 

“Awesome,” Troy muttered, and gave him another quick kiss for good measure. 

“We can leave,” Abed said then, taking Troy’s hand in his, “if the others are good to go.” 

“I think we should,” Frankie replied with a grimace, “you’re risking a lot by having them here.” 

  


***

  


After exploring LA following Annie’s itinerary- because of course she had one- the group ended up back at Abed’s apartment, tired and sprawled out on any seat available. 

“We should have a party,” Britta perked up after a while, “who knows when we’re all gonna be together again! Let’s have a big party!”

“You know we’re leaving really early tomorrow, right?” Jeff asked. 

She shrugged, “I’ve done worse.”

“You shouldn’t be proud of that,” Jeff pointed out, “but I’m in.” 

Annie and Frankie both gave their okay, and Abed turned to Troy. 

“What do you want to do?” he asked in a low voice, for only him to hear. 

Troy looked down at their interlaced fingers and smiled, then looked back up at his boyfriend.

“I wanna have fun with my friends,” Troy replied, “and I wanna kiss you.” 

“Cool,” Abed said with a smile, and turned to give Annie a thumbs-up, which she excitedly returned. “And part two,” he announced, leaning in to kiss Troy. 

Troy cupped his cheek with one hand and sighed happily into the kiss, and leaned in again to steal another quick kiss when Abed started to pull back. 

“Can I invite Bill?” Abed asked then, “I want my friends to meet- like a crossover episode.” 

“That sounds cool,” Troy nodded, “go for it.” 

Abed texted Bill, who enthusiastically accepted the invitation, and a few hours later the group had thrown together a pretty good party- they had drinks, food, and Britta’s party-time playlist. Jeff was already on his second beer, Britta and Frankie were struggling to open a wine bottle, and Troy, Abed and Annie were chatting on the couch when the intercom buzzed. Abed stood up, and Troy went with him to open the door for Bill. 

“Hey Abed,” they said upon their arrival, then acknowledged Troy with a smirk. “Hey Abed’s cute boyfriend.” 

“Good to see you, Bill,” Troy replied, “what’s that?” 

Bill looked down at the tupperware they were holding and smiled. “Oh, yeah, I don’t have enough money for wine, but I didn’t wanna come empty-handed, so I just brought some leftover pizza I had.” They looked at Abed. “I hope that’s good enough for your crossover episode.” 

“Perfect,” Abed said, taking the tupperware from them, “thank you so much.”

They nodded and patted Abed on the shoulder, then their eye seemed to catch something and they quickly bypassed the two of them to head to the couch, catching Annie’s attention right away. 

“Oh hey, Annie, what’s up?” Troy heard them say, and turned to Abed. 

“Are they gonna flirt with everyone in this group?” he amusedly asked. 

“They weren’t flirting with you, they were stating a fact,” Abed corrected him, “you _are_ my cute boyfriend.” 

“Fair enough,” Troy agreed with a shrug, and gave Abed a swift kiss on the lips. 

He caught sight of Britta, brandishing the bottle of wine they had finally managed to open, and when he looked back at Abed, he was already staring back with understanding in his eyes. 

“Go talk to her,” he murmured. 

Troy nodded, and gave him another quick kiss before walking towards Britta, who was now pouring herself a way-too-full glass of wine. 

“Hey,” he caught her attention, “can I talk to you for a second?” He pointed to the glass. “Before you drink all that and can’t understand me?”

“Good call.” She set the glass down on the coffee table. “Don’t let anyone touch this,” she hissed to Annie and Bill, “and if someone does, kill them.” 

“Britta, you don’t even know Bill, you can’t order them to kill someone for you,” Annie called after her, but she and Troy were already halfway to the kitchen, and she hadn’t really been listening in the first place. 

“What’s up?” she asked once they were inside and he had shut the door behind them. 

“Uh, I guess I wanted to ask if this is like- weird for you. You know, ‘cause we dated and turns out I was actually gay and in love with Abed the whole time.” 

“I mean, is it weird for you?” Britta asked, “‘cause it’s not weird for me. Makes way more sense than our thing ever did. I love you, Troy, but I think we both knew we were kidding ourselves with that one. I mean, god, I helped you go after Abed _while_ we were dating.” 

“That’s true,” he considered, “not a great girlfriend move, huh?” 

“Not really,” she laughed, “but I think it was the right thing in the end, right? He makes you happy, and that’s all I could ever want for you.” 

“I want you to be happy, too,” Troy replied softly. 

“I am happy,” she said with a smile, “I’m _really_ close to being a real therapist, I finally talked some stuff out with my parents and one of my best friends just came back from a long ass trip around the world. Things are going pretty well for me.” 

“That’s really good,” Troy beamed, and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back happily, and he let out a sigh, feeling like their relationship was finally where it was always meant to be, without either of them forcing any unnecessary romantic feelings into it to hide the truth from themselves. “You’re the best, Britta,” he mumbled, and then let her go. 

“So are you,” she replied, “now let’s go party, I have to make sure no one drank my wine.” 

  


***

  


As it turned out, no one had drunk Britta’s wine, so she did, and then some more, and then some different types of alcohol for the sake of variety. Hour passed in a haze of drinking, bad dancing, and talking, until Britta and Jeff were taken to their hotel by a much more sober Frankie, after some emotional and sloppy goodbyes to the rest of the group, and Bill headed home after many promises to Annie that they would text her once they got there safely. 

Once everyone had left, Annie retired to her room with a big yawn and a kiss goodnight to her friends, and Abed helped a more than slightly tipsy Troy get ready for bed. 

“I think I’m gonna be okay,” Troy announced, dropping down on Abed’s bed, his speech slurred but clear. 

Abed sat down next to him and grabbed his hand. 

“You are,” he replied. 

Troy nodded and smiled, then leaned in to kiss Abed better than he’d gotten the chance to all day, slowly and purposefully, trying to convey that _he_ was the main reason why Troy knew he would be okay. Abed allowed him to deepen the kiss more and more, and let Troy climb up on top of him so he could be as close to him as possible, feel all of Abed against him and revel in how safe that made him feel. 

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Abed mumbled when Troy had begun to kiss his way down Abed’s neck, and his hands had snuck underneath his shirt. Troy pulled away immediately.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“Well, uh-” Abed’s eyes were darting around nervously, looking anywhere but at Troy, so Troy placed a delicate hand on his cheek to center him, and it seemed to work. “This seems like it’s, you know, leading somewhere, and I’m just-” he paused, then let the rest of the words slip out in a rush “-I’m not ready to have sex with you.” 

“Oh,” Troy’s eyes widened in realization and he climbed off of Abed, sat next to him and guided his boyfriend to face him. “No, Abed, trust me, I have no intention of having sex with you for the first time while I’m even the slightest bit drunk,” he assured him, “I want to remember every detail.” 

“Oh,” Abed mouthed slowly and Troy couldn’t hold back an endeared smile. 

“And we don’t have to do _anything_ until we are both one hundred percent ready,” he added. 

“Thank you,” Abed said softly, “and for the record, I do want to have sex with you. Like a lot. Been wanting to for a number of years.” 

“Yep, mhm, cool, please stop saying stuff like that before my brain short-circuits, babe,” Troy mumbled in response. 

“Alright,” Abed laughed and brought his hand to the back of Troy’s neck to draw him closer. “Now that that’s out in the open, I think we could kiss a little longer.” 

Troy agreed with an enthusiastic nod, and happily kissed his boyfriend again. Time began to move slower, and his mind finally stopped racing as he let the sadness and worry slip away and allowed himself to get lost in Abed and the way it felt to be pressed against him, feeling his lips brush against his skin with gentle kisses and hushed words of comfort and love, filling him with the knowledge that he was loved so much more tenderly, truthfully and unconditionally than he ever thought he would get to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, I am once again asking for you to leave kudos/comments if you liked this.


	6. i figured out where i belong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter is here. It hath come to an end. Except, not really, 'cause I have some ideas about stories set in this same timeline, including a fic all written and ready to post, so yeah stick around for that if you're into it! But this specific fic? It hath indeed come to an end. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. It's about the tenderness, it's about the unconditional love. 
> 
> Chapter title from "Long & Lost" by Florence + The Machine.

“Guys,” Annie mumbled, her words muffled by Troy and Abed, who were hugging her so tight it was almost suffocating, “I’m gonna miss my flight.” 

“Good,” Troy whined, “don’t leave us.” 

She finally managed to pull back, though Troy and Abed each held on to one of her arms. 

“I’ll come back soon,” she promised, “or you guys can come visit me! You have all that money now, put it to good use.” 

“You’re right,” Troy said, his face brightening, “we’re gonna visit you constantly!”

“You did this to yourself, now live with the consequences,” Abed mumbled to Annie.

She laughed and drew them into another quick hug, then opened the door and stepped out. 

“Take care of each other,” she said softly, giving them one last look, “and of yourselves.” 

Troy and Abed watched her walk away, only closing the door once she was out of sight. 

“That was a good exit,” Troy muttered, and Abed nodded in agreement. 

“She’s gotten pretty good at this stuff,” he commented, “I gotta show you the missing lover footage we filmed one day.” 

“Missing lover footage?” Troy repeated, his brows furrowed.

“You know when a lover is missing or dead in a movie, so the hero watches some footage of them being gorgeous and stupidly in love?” Troy nodded, and Abed shrugged, “We filmed that for each other, in case one of us is kidnapped or murdered.” 

Abed sat on the couch, and Troy followed his lead, instinctively cuddling into his side.

“You didn’t have any missing lover footage for me,” he frowned. 

“You’re joking, right? Of course I had missing lover footage for you. I pretty much never delete any footage of you I have, no matter how unusable for my movies,” Abed replied. 

“Did you-” Troy sat up to look him in the eyes “-did you sit in the dark and watch videos of me and think about how much you missed me?” 

Abed nodded, “Constantly.” He looked pensive for a moment, and raised a finger to correct himself, “Not actually in the dark a lot of the time, though. That hurts my eyes.” 

“God, you’re so cute,” Troy mumbled with a smile, “I don’t know how I managed not to kiss you for almost eight years.” 

“Me neither,” Abed replied, shaking his head slightly, “but you can make up for it now.” 

“Oh, I will,” Troy said, and leaned in to do just that. 

  


***

  


It was the last day Abed had taken off work, and after that he would go back to normal life. With that knowledge, came the knowledge of the fact that he had no idea of how Troy intended to fit into said life. 

He wanted to ask him, of course, wanted to make sure he would continue to be around, preferably forever, but, well, it wasn’t as easy as thinking it, because there was a chance -however small it may be- that the answer would be no, he wouldn’t stay with Abed forever, and this dream come true would be limited only to those few days. Such an outcome would result in heartbreak for Abed, so he wasn’t really looking forward to possibly feeling that. 

They were sitting on a park bench, their hands intertwined and their sides pressed together, a perfect end of rom-com vision, when Abed finally got the nerve to ask Troy the question. 

“What are you gonna do after today?” 

Troy turned towards him with a sheepish smile. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean the outside-of-real-life reunion time is almost over. Tomorrow, I go back to real life- work and rent and all that. What about you?” 

“Well,” Troy replied slowly, as if he was also a little scared, “are you still looking for a roommate?” 

"Of course I am," Abed answered quickly, then his brain caught up. "Oh," he said and pointed at Troy, "you want to be my roommate." 

Troy nodded, "If that's okay with you." 

“Of course it’s okay with me,” Abed replied, “it’s more than okay, it’s the best possible outcome.” 

He leaned in to kiss Troy, and then asked, “Do you want your own room?” 

“Do you?” Troy returned. 

“I don’t think so,” Abed answered, shaking his head, “I think I want to sleep in your arms every night.” 

“What happened to taking things slow, babe?” Troy asked with a chuckle. 

“Yeah, I think I’m done with that,” Abed replied, “this is everything I’ve wanted for years. I just want to be with you forever.” 

Troy took a deep breath in, because, well, _fuck_. 

“Same here,” he breathed, interlacing his fingers with Abed’s. 

Abed smiled softly, and rested his head on Troy’s shoulder. 

“This is nice,” he said, looking at the clear sky and the long stretches of grass. 

“Yeah,” Troy agreed, leaning his head on top of Abed’s. 

He stared at the view in front of him, seeing the children and dogs playing in the park, the people quickly passing through to get back to work after their lunch break. He wondered how many of them felt as happy as he did, if any. He felt as though he was in on a secret no one else knew, like he had figured out the answer to a question no one else had ever even thought to ask.

This wasn’t where he thought he’d end up, all those years ago when he’d made the decision to attend Greendale Community College. He thought maybe he’d get out of there with a somewhat useful diploma or something like that, not that he’d meet the love of his life, fall in love without knowing, realize it while on a trip across the globe to become a millionaire, come back to him and feel as if he was living inside a fairytale whenever he was touched by him. 

It was pretty fucking cool that this was where he’d ended up. He couldn’t think of a better outcome, really, or even a different one. He couldn’t imagine himself without Abed, because even when he was physically as far from him as one could be, Abed was always right there, the main character in almost every one of Troy’s thoughts and dreams.

“Hey,” he said softly, breaking the comfortable silence they had been sitting in, “do you think there’s any universe where we don’t end up together?”

“No,” Abed replied confidently, “we’re meant to be.” 

“You ran the simulations?” Troy asked. 

Abed hummed, “I was wrong before. I used to think there wasn’t a universe where we _did_ end up together. But I was missing a vital piece of information- the fact that you want me back.” 

“Very much so,” Troy cut in. 

“Now that I know that, I know there’s no way this doesn't happen,” Abed continued, and god, Troy loved how he could hear the smile in his voice.

“Good,” he said, “I wouldn’t want any parallel universe Troy not to know what this feels like.” 

“What does it feel like?” Abed asked quietly. 

“Magical,” Troy answered, in that same low, intimate tone, “amazing. Like all the pieces fit perfectly together and I can finally breathe, because I know who I am, and I have you, and I love you _so goddamn much_.”

Abed hummed, but he didn’t reply right away, instead he was quiet for a few moments, simply holding onto Troy and rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand slowly and carefully, studying the movement and every sensation it brought. 

“I think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he whispered after a while. He was quiet for a few seconds longer, and then, even softer, added, “Actually, I know you are.” 

“So are you” Troy breathed, and cuddled a little closer to him. 

  


***

  


A few hours later, they had exhausted themselves walking around LA and visiting pretty much every comic shop they could find, where Troy used his recently acquired wealth to get Abed many, many gifts, so they had headed back home. 

“I was thinking,” Troy said, stopping in front of what had been Annie’s room the few days before, “we could make this into a new dreamatorium.” 

“I’m so glad you said that,” Abed replied, and grabbed Troy’s face to guide him into a kiss. 

“Whoa,” Troy breathlessly mouthed afterwards, “you really like the idea, huh?”

“Yes,” Abed replied, “and I really like you.”

“I really like you too,” Troy whispered, and kissed him again. 

After a few more lazy kisses, Abed pulled back saying he needed to shower, and Troy nodded and grabbed one of their new comic books to read while he waited for him. He didn’t end up doing much reading, though, only getting through a few pages before his mind started going a hundred miles an hour, thinking about everything that had happened in the last couple of days. 

He was happy, he really was, he had never been as happy as he was with Abed, and he really believed he was going to be okay, despite everything. But god, did it hurt to lose a friend over this- over being in love, because that’s what it was, she simply thought their love was wrong. Which was an insane thing to think, because anyone with a brain should have been able to see that it was the most _right_ thing in the universe. And yet, somehow, she didn’t, so her love for him had faded. He was used to it. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, after all. And it might not be the last. Britta was okay with it, _thank god_ , but what about Jeff? Was he letting him down? This couldn’t be what Jeff had expected from him when he’d encouraged him to go after football, or Annie. He pretty much went on the opposite path, towards nerdiness and Abed- and they had sort of dragged Annie with them. Oops. 

Was their friend group going to fall apart? Had he managed to maintain his bond to them while he was all the way across the world, only to destroy it as soon as he was back?

“What is it?” 

Troy looked up to see Abed had joined him, and was sitting down beside him.

“You have your ‘I’m thinking and it’s wrinkling my brain and making me sad’ face on,” he said, “are you reading _Spider-verse_? I warned you not to think too hard about that one.” 

“No, it’s not that,” Troy replied, setting the forgotten comic book aside, “I’m just… I’m worried about the group, Abed.” Abed gave him a questioning look and he continued, “What if I ruined it? We lost Shirley because of me.” 

“Because of us, Troy,” Abed corrected him, “we’re together in this.” The sweetness left his voice then, “And it’s not our fault she hates true love.” 

“I guess,” Troy sighed. 

“This isn’t just about Shirley, is it? What is it? Britta? Jeff?” He raised a finger with each guess, then paused, and his brows furrowed as he raised a third, uncertain finger. “...Chang?” 

“It’s- it’s definitely not Chang.” Troy frowned, “Wait, since when is he a part of the group?” Abed simply shrugged, and Troy decided to ask more about it later. “No, I-” he sighed “-Britta and I… I think we’re okay. Jeff seems supportive but, you know-” he shrugged sadly “-I can’t help but think I must’ve disappointed him.” 

“Troy, you travelled all around the world and figured out more about yourself than he ever has, how could he be disappointed?” Abed asked. 

“I don’t know!” Troy exclaimed, “I don’t know okay? Love isn’t usually unconditional, Abed, yours is special. I could come home one day with horns and start spitting fire and you’d be like ‘Cool, I still love you,’ but not everyone is like that. Some people only want to love a certain version of you, and when they find out that’s not who you are, they just leave. They don’t look back, they just-” his voice broke, and Abed’s heart broke right along with it “-they just leave.” 

“I’m not gonna leave,” Abed said, and his voice was so full of emotion Troy just couldn’t not start crying, “I’m never gonna leave you. Neither is Annie. We’re a family.” 

“I know,” Troy sobbed, “god, I know, baby, and I feel so lucky.” Abed opened his arms for him and Troy let himself fall into them easily, burying his face in his boyfriend’s chest and dampening his shirt with his tears. “I feel so lucky to have found you, but it- it still hurts. My family, Shirley… it still hurts.” 

“That’s normal,” Abed reassured him, “it still hurts me too, how my mom left, or how my dad is… the way he is. It hurts that I had to build a family with other people like me, because my own didn’t really… want me.” 

“Yeah,” Troy raised his head to meet Abed’s eyes, “yeah, that’s it. But _I_ want you. I want you in every possible way in the universe.” 

“And I want _you_ ,” Abed whispered, “and I love you.” He cupped Troy’s cheek and gently caressed it, and his heart melted at the way Troy leaned into the touch, like a cat purring and nuzzling into its owner’s hand. “I will love you enough to make up for all the people who don’t do it right,” he promised. 

Troy covered Abed’s hand with his own, and brought his other hand to the back of his neck, to guide Abed’s head until their foreheads were touching. 

“So will I,” he breathed, “I promise. I’ll never leave you again.” 

“You can take a vacation if you want,” Abed joked, “just as long as you come back.” 

Troy chuckled lightly, then tilted his head to press a soft kiss to Abed’s lips. 

“I’ll always come back to you, Abed,” he whispered, “always.” 

  


***

  


That night, they were laying in bed, ready for sleep, and Abed had his arm around Troy, who was resting his head on his boyfriend’s chest to look at the comic book they were reading together. 

“Finished?” Abed would ask each time before turning the page, and Troy would nod when he was. 

It should’ve been annoying, maybe, reading like this, but Troy didn’t think he’d ever enjoyed a comic book more. And it had nothing to do with the confusing storyline, and everything to do with Abed’s arm around him, and the way he felt every small laugh that vibrated through his chest, and the way Troy was completely, thoroughly and unbelievably in love with every little thing his boyfriend did. 

He turned away from the comic book, and looked at Abed instead. It never ceased to amaze him, just how beautiful the man was. It had always taken his breath away, looking at Abed, since the first time they met; he’d always had the hardest time tearing his eyes away from him, deeming everything else much less interesting and pleasing to look at. 

He really should have known. 

“I can’t wait to do this with you forever,” he whispered, and Abed tore his gaze away from the notebook too, and focused on Troy. “I want to do it all with you,” Troy continued, “I want to cuddle up with you every chance I get, and I wanna make dinner for you when you come home late from work- I gotta learn to cook, I guess- I just… I want-” he paused, then with a grin sang, “Troy and Abed being domestic.” 

Abed put the comic book down on his nightstand, then wound his other arm around Troy as well, and smiled. 

“I want that too,” he replied. “You know-” he shifted slightly to look at Troy a little better “-I was used to being alone, before you. I never really minded it. I mean, I wasn’t happy about it, but… it was just the way it was, and that was okay.” Troy nodded. “But then I met you, and suddenly I couldn’t be alone anymore, because I found out there was this person who just… completed me. Who looked at me, and didn’t see someone they need to take care of because he’s weird and difficult, but someone they _want_ to help, because they- _you_ just love me. I think you’re the first person to ever just love me. Not an-” he put on a deeper voice and furrowed his brows, in a way Troy guessed was meant to resemble his father “‘-Abed, I love you, and that’s why you need to be more like this and not the way you are-’” he turned back into himself again “-but an ‘I love you, _because_ of who you are.’” 

“I do,” Troy confirmed, “I love you. I love your weirdness and I love that your brain has all that space for movie tropes and references, but still had a hard time remembering the spanish word for tree. I love that you carry chocolates around every day in case Annie gets sad. I love that you never get annoyed when you have to explain things to me over and over. I love-” he grabbed Abed’s hand and pressed a kiss on a finger “-that you’re actually the most caring person I’ve ever met-” he kissed another finger “and you show it in the most unexpected, awesome ways." He kissed the back of Abed's hand, and kept it close as he whispered the last few words. "I just love you. All of you."

“I’m really lucky,” Abed whispered, and leaned in, hoping a kiss would tell Troy everything words couldn’t, hoping he would understand that Abed loved him more than he could ever find the words to say- but god, he was willing to spend his whole life trying. He thought Troy must have understood, because the way he kissed him back felt like hearing the same unreachable words repeated back to him, like the most beautiful love declaration, unmatched by any movie Abed had ever seen. 

When they pulled back, Troy stroked Abed’s cheek with his thumb and touched their foreheads together- Abed thought it must be one of his favorite ways to show affection. He filed this down in the Troy folder he kept in his mind- a folder that, quite frankly, took up most of the space in there. 

“You know, Abed,” Troy whispered, “I’m gonna marry you someday.” 

“Cool,” Abed replied, suddenly breathless, “cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.” 

“That’s a lot of ‘cool’s,” Troy said with a quiet laugh. 

“Wait,” Abed’s brows furrowed, and he raised his head to look Troy in the eyes, “is this a proposal? ‘Cause I know we’ve only been dating for three days, but I’d probably say yes.” 

“It’s not a proposal,” Troy replied with the fondest smile Abed had ever seen, “it’s a promise. My proposal is gonna be way more awesome.” 

“What if _I_ want to propose to _you_?” Abed asked with a matching smile on his face. 

“Well, we’ll just have to see who gets there first,” Troy playfully answered.

“Alright.” Abed turned Troy’s hand around and raised it to his lips, then pressed a gentle kiss to Troy’s ring finger, staring deeply into his eyes as he did. It was a promise of his own, and Troy must have understood, because his breath seemed to catch in his throat and his eyes looked a little shiny. 

“I love you,” he whispered, scooting impossibly closer to Abed, until their bodies were flush together and they were all the other could feel, hear, or think about- the latter wasn’t new, they were both always at the centre of the other’s mind, after all. 

“I love you, too,” Abed whispered, returning the embrace in the most tender of ways, and gracing the skin of Troy’s neck with the most delicate of kisses, “you’re like my favorite movie, and my favorite song, and the best buttered noodles in the universe, all mixed together and made into something even more awesome.” 

“That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me,” Troy breathed. 

“It’s not that good,” Abed replied, and Troy just adored how he could feel his smile against his skin, “you’re just really in love with me.” 

“I am,” Troy whispered, and placed a soft kiss on Abed’s forehead, “good thing you’re really in love with me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Et voilà. Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions? I wanna know 'em all, please. Thank you so much for reading this fic, I really hope it was fun and sad and soft and satisfying in all the right ways.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're like me, you've probably read a lot of trobed reunion fics before this one. And I know what you're thinking: "Damn, ao3 user bothsexuals, they were awfully quick to go back to normal and be all over each other!" Well, I am asking you to trust me on this: when you find your person, a long time apart is nothing against your love for each other and the fact that they are your home. You'll fall back into their arms just as easily as ever. 
> 
> That said, thank you for reading. I hope you liked it, and if you did please leave a comment and/or kudos!


End file.
